Black Rose
by Tyson FoxFlame
Summary: [AU][Taito] Rough around the edges: a pure description of Yamato. After his 3rd expulsion, he's shipped off to a special school in Japan in hopes that he'll change. Things seem hopeless and unfair then he met Taichi, the roommate who taught him everything
1. Change

Hey everybody, T-Fox here. Yeah, new fic, I have too many, yada yada yada, but hey, who's REALLY complaining huh?

Yeah, so this fic is an AU, so hope you all enjoy it. Japanese names, and the boys have never met.

Don't own Digimon, and I'm not going to bother warning you about the slash. Oops, guess I just did. Whatever, happy reading!

_**

* * *

Things do not change; we change.**_

_**-Henry David Thoreau**_

* * *

"You what?" the woman with white-blonde hair yelled at the young boy sitting in the arm chair across from her. 

"I got kicked out of the school." Yamato shrugged nonchalantly. Clarice, Yamato's stepmother, went on another rant about how this was the third school he had been expelled from in one year and how he was impossible to deal with. Frankly, Yamato couldn't care less about what she thought. After all, he never really thought of her as a mother, much less a stepmother. _His_ mother was someone he could trust, someone who wasn't so snobby and pushy about the way Yamato acted.

'_Basically my mother isn't a bitch._' Yamato thought grudgingly as Clarice kept prattling on. If it had been his choice, his father would still be single, just like it was when he was a child. It had always just been the two of them after his parents divorced, a team, in a sense. But right after his 11th birthday, his father began to think differently. Hiroaki Ishida had started going out and meeting new women. Naturally, Yamato thought it was pointless because they had learned a while ago they didn't need a woman. Not to say that Yamato was against his parents getting back together. He loved his mother equally as much as his father; or rather, he did. Then, that one fateful day, Hiroaki met Clarice at a formal ball. Somehow, they had fallen 'in love' and got married the summer of Yamato's 12th birthday.

So, because of Hiroaki's foolish, in Yamato's opinion at least, mistake, he was now stuck with this nightmare woman who would punish Yamato to no end. It was just as her ranting seized that Hiroaki walked into the front room.

"What exactly is the problem here?" Hiroaki asked the pair. He had somewhat suspected there was dislike amongst the two of them, but he merely assumed that it was because of Yamato. As the years progressed and the golden-blond boy entered his teenage years, he became a tad…rowdy. He had rebelled against the idea of having a stepmother from the very beginning.

"The third school, Hiroaki! The little snot has been expelled from the third school this year," Clarice spat out and shoved the note from Yamato's principal into his hand. Hiroaki briefly read the paper and returned his gaze to his son.

"Is this true, Yamato?" he questioned, indicating the paper.

"Damn straight," Yamato answered, not bothering to regret the words.

"You are so ungrateful. Be happy you're even living with us instead of shipped off to the boonies with your mother," Clarice said, regarding the word mother as if it were foul. Yamato clenched his fists together. First of all, his mother wasn't a bad person and secondly, she didn't live in the 'boonies' either.

'_Just because it's not New York doesn't make it the boonies. Jeeze.'_ He shook his head involuntarily.

"Clarice, that's enough. Although Yamato, New York will eventually run out of schools for you to go to," Hiroaki said in attempt to please them both.

Yamato stared at his father blankly for a short time before shrugging and bluntly replying with, "Who cares?"

Hiroaki sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yamato, stop being negative about everything I have to say."

"Why not? You made me like this," Yamato responded with a smirk. His father gritted his teeth, slowly loosing his temper. Yamato chose to continue. "Although, I suppose you wouldn't notice. You've become too preoccupied being Clarice's lapdog." That was the final snap. Hiroaki's eyes widened and he emitted a low growl.

"Go to your room. We'll discuss what we're going to do with you down here," he said and pointed towards the stairs.

"Whatever." Yamato bolted up the stairs, only pausing to stop and listen to a few words being yelled by the she-devil. He walked into his room and slammed the door. He slid down to the floor behind it, trying to decide if he would rather scream at the top of his lungs or burst into tears. He knew he was in major trouble for this one. This was the third school he had gotten expelled from. His father wasn't happy the first two times it happened. But it didn't seem to matter much to Yamato, mainly because it was just school. No big deal.

It wasn't that he was stupid by any means; it was more like he refused to apply himself. As soon as Clarice moved in and his father began dedicating himself to their relationship, Yamato decided that he didn't need to bother trying anymore.

"But by no means are they going to intimidate me," the blond said to himself and rose to his feet, stealthily sneaking over to his window. Quietly, he unlatched the lock and opened the window, stepping out onto the patch of roof that was sticking out from above the first floor. He carefully crawled to his right to the tool shed, hopped onto the roof of it, and then jumped to the ground, landing on all fours, much like a cat would. He ran off down the street, knowing that **this** he was going to regret, but not really caring about the consequences.

He never thought about the consequences of anything really. Such as when his first expulsion came from making plans for an atomic bomb. It didn't really mean anything and it wasn't supposed to be a bomb anyway! But would his teacher and principal believe him? Of course not. In his mind, it was just a bunch of harmless scribbles that when put together formed a bomb. Ironic if you think about it. His second expulsion wasn't really an expulsion at all. He had chosen to drop out. But it had been almost two months before his father realized that he had been missing school and the school wouldn't let him back in. And so came the third school, which he was now expelled from for multiple riots.

"Can't people just calm down and stop being so flippin' uptight about everything? Seriously, I worry that one day the world will be so focused on rules and doing things 'the right way' that it'll spin off its axis right into the sun!" Yamato shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered around the neighboring park. He then realized he had nowhere to really go.

"Maybe this is why I should have friends. Somebody to help me escape my family," the young boy spoke wistfully as he spun on his heel, heading back in the direction he had come from. Following his path back onto the top of the tool shed and onto the roof, he slid back through his window and snapped it shut.

"Good, made it," he whispered quietly.

"And where have **you** been?" Yamato whirled around and came eye-to-eye with Clarice.

"None of your business," he shot back. She reached out and slapped him on impulse.

"Your father and I have been worried about you," she replied angrily.

"Correction, my father has," Yamato retorted, watching as the color rose to her face.

"Your father has what?" Hiroaki interjected as he also appeared in the doorway.

"Nothing," Yamato answered as he rolled his eyes.

"Where have you been Yamato? We've been looking all over for you," Hiroaki pointed out.

"I wasn't even gone that long," Yamato replied as he tried to walk away. Hiroaki grabbed him by the waist and held him back.

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily," Hiroaki said hastily. Yamato grunted and squirmed to get away from his father.

"Sit down," Hiroaki commanded, pointing at Yamato's bed. His son obeyed quickly and silently.

"Have you decided what you're doing with me? Just enroll me in another school?" Yamato asked his father, sighing in relief as Clarice left the room.

"Yes and yes. You are being enrolled into another school," Hiroaki answered calmly.

"Where's this one? Lots of miles out of the city?" the boy joked with closed eyes, lying on his back with his arms behind his head. Clarice soon destroyed the relaxed aura as she came back and tossed something rather heavy onto his stomach. Blue eyes snapped open and an eyebrow rose up.

"A suitcase?" He examined the black box, hoping for an explanation. Hiroaki nodded.

"You'll need it," Clarice added.

"Why?" the teen asked suspiciously.

"Yamato, we've decided that you can no longer stay here. We can't figure out what to do about your behavior lately," Hiroaki started off. Yamato's face slowly became covered with a grin.

"So, I'm going to live with Mom?" he guessed, feeling more joyous then ever.

"No." Clarice deflated his happiness bubble. Yamato's grin faded slowly.

"So then, what's going on?" Yamato prodded them.

"We've enrolled you in a private boarding school," Hiroaki explained to his son.

"A boarding school? Why?" The blond suddenly sat upright.

"Because we feel it's what's best for you. Hopefully it will help your behavior and attitude change," Hiroaki replied.

"So that's it. You're just sending me away without trying." The blond jumped to his feet in defense.

"We **have** tried. Three times. I can't control you anymore. Hopefully someone else will be able to succeed more then I have."

"All right. So how far is this boarding school?" Yamato asked.

"Japan." The answer was too simple, at first Yamato thought of it as a joke. So, like with any joke, he began to laugh.

"Great, Dad, you actually had me going there for a few. But no really, where are you sending me?" Yamato asked.

"Japan." Hiroaki repeated. Yamato's jaw dropped.

"You're seriously sending me to Japan?" Yamato yelled in shock once he realized the reality of his situation.

"That we are," Hiroaki replied as he handed over a brochure to his son. Yamato read the front page briefly.

"Odaiba Academy?" he whispered to himself. Shaking his head, he tossed the packet down and looked back at his father.

"Why Japan?"

"Because the Japanese are seemingly stricter with their students then Americans are. You need to be under more reigns and discipline. The school was said to be perfect for boys like you who needed…refinement, if you will," Clarice said, a small mocking tone making its way present in her voice. Yamato glared in response.

"You're flight leaves tomorrow. I suggest you start packing now." Hiroaki nodded briefly and left the room. Clarice followed closely behind. She suddenly turned around and smirked at the teenager.

"At last, we can finally get rid of you, you ungrateful little brat. Hope you enjoy Japan!" she said and closed the door behind her. Yamato stared at the door and growled.

"Stupid Japan," he muttered to himself and packed up everything he owned. Most of his shirts and jeans, a pair of black running shoes, all the boxers and boxer-briefs he could find, a few pairs of jogging pants, some pajama pants, socks, and of course, his favorite pillow all went into one suitcase and those were just the clothes. Yamato spent most of his evening packing every little thing he owned into some suitcase to take with him. Nothing would be left behind in the country of evil; or it could just have been that Yamato was possessive of everything he ever owned. Either way, he had packed up everything in his entire room, save for his bed, dresser, desk, computer, chair, and trashcan. With that taken care of, he crawled into his own bed one last time.

"He finally gave up on me. I never thought he would…but he did," Yamato spoke into the darkness quietly and closed his eyes, not planning to open them again until the sun shone once more.

* * *

The next morning, Yamato was awoken bright and early by his father. 

"Up and at 'em Yamato. We need to get you to the airport in an hour," Hiroaki said as he opened the blinds and stole the blankets away from his son. Yamato groaned and rolled onto his other side.

"I'm serious, Yamato, get up." Hiroaki dragged the boy out of bed. Yamato opened his eyes and struggled from his father's grasp.

"I'm going, I'm going. Calm down," Yamato grumbled and dragged himself into the bathroom. He went through his usual morning routine, dressed, and packed the last few things in his bags. He threw everything down the stairs and waited for his father to put them in the car. Meanwhile, he watched Clarice prepare breakfast for his father and herself.

"Well, Brat, is your father ready to dispose of you yet?" she asked him.

"He should be finishing loading the car soon," Yamato gritted through his teeth. He hated being called a brat and he hated it even more that his father allowed it to happen. Thankfully, Hiroaki walked in before Clarice could shoot any more insults at him.

"Ready to go?" Hiroaki asked him. Yamato nodded quickly and started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Say goodbye first, Yamato," his father whispered into his ear.

"Goodbye first, Yamato," he snickered to himself. His father shook his head at his display of immaturity and swatted him behind the head lightly.

"Correctly, please," he hissed. Yamato sighed and rolled his eyes.

'_She's got him to the point he can't even take a joke anymore. Fun-Nazi!'_ His mind screamed as he turned towards Clarice, trying to erase any signs of malice written on his face.

"Goodbye, Clarice," he said in a dull tone. Clarice didn't reply and waved him off. Yamato shrugged and got into the car. Hiroaki followed and drove away from their house. They drove in silence to the airport. They unloaded all of Yamato's stuff and sent it into luggage storage. They walked to the gate and stood in more silence.

"This is for the best, Yamato. You understand right?" Hiroaki asked. Yamato nodded and sighed.

"I understand, Dad," Yamato replied. Of course, he didn't **really** understand what the best actually was. It most certainly wasn't the best for himself. Maybe it was the best for his father. Whatever the reasoning was, he played along with it.

"You'll be able to come home when you have changed. It'll come in good time," Hiroaki continued

"Dad, is there something you're not telling me about this school?" Yamato asked, suddenly becoming suspicious.

"It's for the best, Yamato. See you when you can come home." His father brushed around the question and hugged his son.

"But Dad-" Yamato started to say.

"I'm doing this because I love you, Yamato," Hiroaki said as he turned and left the gate, leaving Yamato alone. The instant Hiroaki left Yamato's side, he felt that familiar feeling of betrayal and emptiness; a feeling he should have been used to by now or so he told himself.

"I…yeah," he whispered at the retreating back of his father. Deep down, he knew he still loved his father. He didn't understand why things had to suddenly change and throw his whole world off balance. It just didn't make sense to him. Then again, nothing made sense to him anymore. He never knew what he was feeling or thinking. Yamato sighed and boarded the plane. He sat in his seat and pulled out his Discman.

"Maybe this is for the best," Yamato said to himself as he turned the CD player on and slipped into his own little dream world.

* * *

Yamato opened his eyes as soon as he felt the plane start to descend from the air. He took off his headphones and put everything into his carry-on. As soon as the plane landed, he got off and went to baggage claim. He collected his luggage from the carousel and walked out of the airport. He spotted a limousine not too far away, the driver standing outside of it. He looked up, saw Yamato, and motioned for him to come to him. Yamato tilted his head to the side curiously. The driver motioned to him once more. This time, Yamato obliged. 

"Ishida Yamato?" the driver asked him.

"Yamato Ishida." Yamato corrected the older man.

"Ah, in Japan, it's backwards, surname goes first," the older man replied cheerfully as he tucked a strand of his chin-length light brown hair behind his ear.

"Oh. Well than, yes, that's me. Do I know you?" Yamato asked.

"I was told you'd be arriving from America today to attend the academy," was the response given as the driver began loading Yamato's bags into the trunk of the limousine.

"That's right," Yamato replied. The driver nodded and opened the door, ushering Yamato inside. The driver got in as well and they took off away from the airport.

"So, you're just the driver?" Yamato asked the man sitting in front of him.

"That's correct. The name's Akira," he introduced himself, ice-blue eyes reflecting an inner child-like soul.

"Nice to meet you," Yamato said, peering out the window as they sped along the streets of Odaiba and out into the more rural area.

"First time in Japan, I assume?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, never been out of the US before," Yamato said in awe, watching the landscape change before his eyes.

"You'll enjoy it, I can guarantee it," Akira chuckled as he drove into a gate-like entrance. They pulled up in front of a large white marble building, at least 5 stories tall.

"Wow…" Yamato breathed quietly, obviously impressed.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Akira turned off the engine and stepped out, heading for the back to help Yamato with his bags.

"Yes. Very," Yamato replied as he got out of the car. Akira dropped the last of Yamato's four bags on the ground, slamming the trunk loudly. He started to pick up two of the slightly larger bags, but Yamato shook his head and grabbed them from him instead.

"Are you sure you don't want help with those?" Akira questioned, allowing the boy to do as he pleased.

"No, I got it. You've been plenty helpful just by getting me here." Yamato nodded politely and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Akira nodded in return and grinned at the blond. Pointing to the main doors, Akira began giving out directions.

"Now, go to the front office, just inside the door. Somebody there will most definitely help get you squared away and help with your luggage and such."

"Thanks, Akira. See you around," Yamato bid his driver goodbye and marched up the stone steps, lugging behind his two rolling suitcases, duffel bag, and backpack. He stepped inside of the building and into what he assumed was the main office. He was greeted by a girl with brunette hair behind a desk.

"May I help you?" she greeted him.

"Um, am I in the right spot?" Yamato questioned her.

"Well, that depends. What do you need?" the lady asked him.

"Well, I'm new here..." se started off.

"Oh, you must be Yamato," she said and smiled.

"Right," Yamato agreed.

"Well, then you are in the right spot," she said as she handed Yamato a large stack of papers.

"Welcome to Odaiba Academy. These are your timetables, maps, rules, and such. Classes start tomorrow. Your room number is 187, up the first flight of stairs and to your left. You have the rest of today to figure out where you're going. Dinner is at 6 pm sharp in the dining hall. That's all," the lady said to him.

"Thanks very much," Yamato replied and began to walk out of the office.

"Oh wait!" the girl called after him. Yamato stopped in his steps and turned around, seeing the girl chasing him with a bag what appeared to be dry cleaning in her hands.

"This is your uniform. They expect you to wear it during class," she explained, piling the slacks/shirt/blazer combination on top of the papers in his hands.

"Thanks again." He nodded and continued on his trek to find his room. He walked up the stairs and turned to his left. He slowly took in all of his new surroundings, everything from the candle-decorated walls to the smoky blue carpets. He looked at the brass numbers on the wall until he found room 187.

"Well, here we go," Yamato said to himself. He took a deep breath and opened the door. Cautiously, he stepped inside and looked around. One side of the room was completely bare, leaving Yamato to believe that it was his side. He walked to his bed and threw his papers, uniform, and luggage down on or around the area. It was then he got a good look at the other half of the room. His jaw slightly dropped and he raised his eyebrow. The other half was absolutely filthy. The bed unmade, clothes strewn everywhere, textbooks lying around the desk, food wrappers all over the floor and some under the bed, and a glass of…something on the bedside table. Yamato wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"You would think people at a fancy place like this would be more, cleaner," Yamato's inner neat-freak spoke through. Suddenly the door slammed and his head snapped towards it. In bounced a boy, about his age maybe, with the largest, messiest mass of gravity-defying brunet hair ever seen by man. Behind him ran in a boy a bit younger, with spiky, shorter, mahogany hair.

"Dai, give me a few seconds to find it and we'll go," the older boy said, apparently not realizing that Yamato was in the room. His mud-colored eyes scanned his half of the room, storming through and turning things even more haphazard then they already were. He clambered under his bed and with a muffled, "Aha!" crawled out with his wallet. It was then he noticed Yamato.

"Hey, are you the new guy?" the boy asked him. Yamato looked up from his timestable and glanced at the boy.

"Yeah, and I assume you're the other guy living in here?" Yamato asked him.

"You betcha." The boy grinned cheekily. He crossed the room and stuck out his hand. "I'm Yagami Taichi, but you can call me Tai. Everybody else does," Tai introduced himself. Yamato looked at his hand, but refused it.

"Yamato Ishida, Ishida Yamato, whatever. And I prefer that you call me that," Yamato replied. Tai slightly winced at the coldness in his voice, but Yamato didn't seem to mind.

"Call you Ishida?" Tai replied, hoping to lighten the mood.

"No you twit, Yamato," Yamato grumbled to himself. Tai shook his head and brushed off the antisocial part of Yamato's personality.

"Oh, and this is Daisuke." Tai gestured to the boy behind him.

"Hey," Daisuke said as he leaned against the doorframe. Yamato glanced at the boy, but said nothing. Tai looked at Yamato again.

"So, where you from?" Tai asked in any attempt to get to know Yamato better.

"New York," Yamato said simply.

"You came from the states? That's cool," Tai replied.

"Yeah I guess. Nothing too special," Yamato retorted, hoping to end this conversation quickly. He looked up and saw Tai watching him. They locked eyes and stared at each other silently, each boy studying the other.

"Tai, can we go yet?" Daisuke asked his older friend. Tai and Yamato jerked up and broke contact.

"Oh, right. Hey Yamato, we're going downtown. Wanna come?" Tai invited him along.

"No thanks," Yamato said instantly, hoping they would take the hint and leave him alone. Tai raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"All right dude, if you say so," Tai returned as he started towards the door. "See ya around." Tai waved and grinned one last time. Yamato simply ignored him.

"Let's just go, Tai. He obviously doesn't want us around," Daisuke said quietly, but Yamato still heard him. Tai sighed and walked away as Daisuke followed, shutting the door behind them. Yamato watched the door swing shut and looked back around the room. He thought about what had just happened, the way he pushed Tai away. Why had he done that? Tai was only trying to be friendly. Yamato sighed and closed his eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked himself. Of course, there was no answer.

"Maybe this place will help after all. Maybe; and maybe whatever the best is will be proven," Yamato tried to convince himself. He then turned back to his papers and started to settle into his new home, Odaiba Academy.

* * *

If you read the first version of this chapter, you'll realize I changed around a ton of things. So I hope that this chapter turned out better. I'm revising all chapters I have hoping they'll be read better. So hope you liked it! 


	2. Discovery

_**Tell your friend a lie; if he keeps it a secret, tell him the truth.**_

_**-Portuguese Proverb**_

* * *

Yamato woke up a short time later, about an hour or so after Tai and Daisuke left. He rolled over onto his side and opened his eyes all the way. He blinked slowly and found two brown eyes blinking right back. 

"**Ah!"** Yamato screamed, as did the person with the eyes. Tai sat back while Yamato scrambled as far away from him as possible.

"What in the hell…**do you think you're doing?**" Yamato yelled at Tai. Tai merely smiled at the blond.

"You need to settle down," he replied.

"Go away," Yamato growled and tried to push Tai off of the bed.

"Why?" Tai asked, moving closer.

"Because I said so. Now go away," Yamato said once more.

"You still haven't said why."

"Because it's bad enough that I have to share a room with you, but having you **this** close to me is too much!" Yamato exclaimed. Tai looked down and realized what sort of position they were in with his hands placed on either side of Yamato kneeling on the bed, Yamato's legs between his knees. Tai gave him a goofy grin and bounced off the bed.

"Dinner's ready, by the way. I came back up here to get you," Tai told him, leaning against the doorframe.

"That's okay, not hungry," Yamato said quickly, sitting up on his bed.

"You're not one of those eating disorder cases are you? Because I had to room with a bulimic last year, and trust it, it is** not** all that fun listening to somebody toss their cookies after every meal," Tai rambled on.

"No, I do not have an eating disorder. I just don't feel like eating," he snapped back, wishing that Tai would just leave him alone.

"Why?" Tai asked him again.

"Just because. **Now go away!**" Yamato jumped up suddenly. He stormed over to Tai and pushed him out the door, locking it behind him. Tai stood on the other side of the door, blinking in surprise. A small smile crept onto his face as he headed back downstairs. He walked back into the dining hall and plopped down at a table with Daisuke, who was currently tackling the mountain of food in front of him.

"He didn't want to come down?" Daisuke asked him around a mouthful of chicken. Tai shook his head and sighed.

"Nope. Looks like we've got another tough one on our hands," Tai concluded, smiling slightly at Daisuke.

"Oh really now." Daisuke looked up with interest, setting the chicken aside to show Tai he was listening.

"Yup. Stubborn, hotheaded, mouthy, a loner. The works," Tai replied.

"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you then!" Daisuke chirped and began working on his potatoes.

"Oh yeah, just a little," Tai responded. Daisuke nodded and chomped on his food silently while Tai sat still, thinking about something else.

"So, what are you going to do, Chi?" Daisuke asked as he swallowed the last bite of his dinner.

"Fix it. Once he realizes where he is, he'll have to change," Tai said and stood up.

"Aren't you even going to eat?" Daisuke asked, running after his friend.

"Nah, I have other things to deal with," Tai responded and bounded up the stairs towards his room, leaving behind a rather confused Daisuke. The other boy merely shrugged and walked into his own room.

Meanwhile at the other end of the hall, Tai stood in front of his door and knocked lightly.

"Yamato, open the door," he called out quietly. There was no response on the other side. Tai sighed and leaned his back against the door.

"Yamato, please open the door," he tried again.

"Don't **you** have a key?" Yamato's voice questioned softly from the other side.

"Yeah, but it's most likely buried in my book bag," Tai answered. On the other side, Yamato was sitting on his bed, watching the door. He contemplated whether he should let this guy in or not. Okay sure, it was his room too, but why should he let him in? Yamato needed his alone time. Of course, he never understood why, it was just another quirk that made him Yamato Ishida. Or rather Ishida Yamato now in this case. With a heavy sigh, he heaved himself off of the bed and walked over to the door. He unlocked every lock and flung it open. Tai, being on the other side, didn't realize Yamato was going to open the door. Due to his position, he fell backwards upon the opening, right into Yamato's arms. Yamato raised an eyebrow, looked down at the weakly-smiling Tai, and dropped him on the floor. He turned around and walked back into the room, sitting on his bed again. Tai propped himself up on his elbows and glared at Yamato.

"Thanks," he said dryly and pushed himself off of the ground.

"Whatever." Yamato was already reabsorbed into his book. Tai closed the door and walked over to his side of the room. With a dramatic sigh, he plopped down hard on his bed.

"Are you always this quiet?" Tai asked Yamato after sitting in the silence. Yamato didn't reply, but simply pulled something out of his book. He held it up and showed it to Tai.

"Shh…I'm trying to ignore you?" Tai read aloud off of the bumper sticker. Yamato nodded and placed the sticker back into his book.

"Well, somebody's a smart ass aren't we?" Tai commented. Yamato sighed and turned the page of his novel. Tai sighed as well and rolled onto his side. He propped his head up with his hand and intently watched the blond boy. Feeling eyes trained on him, Yamato looked up and glanced at Tai. Mud brown met cobalt blue. It was silent between the two boys, each lost in the other's eyes, trying to read each other's soul. Yamato licked his dry lips and looked away.

"What do you want of me?" he asked softly, gazing intently at his bedspread.

"I just want to be your friend. That's all I ask," Tai replied, still watching the blue-eyed boy.

"Why?" Yamato raised his defenses once more.

"You seem like someone interesting to know," Tai said with a casual wave of his hand. Yamato sighed and returned to his novel, acting as though Tai had never said anything at all. The brunet shook his head and read the cover.

"Lord of the Flies?" Tai questioned.

"Yeah, it's a novel I started to read for school back home," Yamato replied, not taking his eyes off of the text.

"Didn't you get kicked out of your school back home?" Tai questioned. Yamato merely nodded and turned the page.

"Then why bother reading it still?"

"Because I think it's a good story, and I would like to finish it," Yamato justified himself.

"What's it about?" Tai asked, feeling a bit defeated that he couldn't bring Yamato out of his reading.

"It's about this group of English schoolboys, about 12 and under and they get stranded on this deserted island on the way home from a trip. It's set during World War II so a bomb shot down their plane. Anyway, so there's this kid named Ralph. He's just around, and he meets this other kid named Piggy. They find this conch shell thingy and Ralph blows on it like a trumpet and all the boys come. Then there's this other boy named Jack who's the leader of the choirboys. He's a strong leader, but kind of bossy and dictator-like. So everybody takes a vote on who they want as chief between Ralph and Jack. Ralph wins and makes Jack the leader of the hunters." Yamato stopped to take a breath shortly but began talking once more.

"So for the first while, they're pretty happy with being on the island and are just enjoying themselves. Then this one kid says something about a beast on the island and they all get freaked out. In the meantime, they are also trying to keep a signal fire going. So as time goes on, things start to deteriorate and they start fighting with eachother. Once, a plane went by and the fire was out because Jack and his hunters were out hunting. And even though they caught a sow, they missed their opportunity to go home. So they fight and Jack decides to go off and start his own tribe. A lot of them go off with Jack, leaving Ralph with only Piggy, the twins Sam and Eric, some little guys, and Simon, who's an epileptic. Anyway, so Jack and his tribe decide to go investigate this part of the mountain where some of the boys said the beast was. They see something and they freak out and run away," Yamato explained, eyes dancing in delight.

"Sound like a bunch of wimps," Tai snorted. Yamato smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, later that day, Ralph's boys, minus Simon, decide to go talk to Jack's tribe, who is having a feast at the time being. Simon during this time is up in the mountain looking around. He comes across the "beast" only to discover it was a dead parachutist. With this newfound knowledge, Simon takes off and runs back to where everybody else is. By this point, the boys are all dancing around and recreating the scene of their hunt, using one of the boys as the sow. Suddenly Simon's in the middle trying to explain about the parachutist. However, the boys soon change it to a tale of killing the beast and they start beating up on Simon, just stabbing him and killing the "beast." In the end of that, they kill Simon, leaving his body to wash away to the ocean," Yamato told Tai. Tai nodded briefly to make it look like he was listening to the novel-babble, but in all reality, he was focused on something else.

All the while, Tai was focused on Yamato's actions completely. When he was telling his story, his whole face seemed to light up with energy as his hands were flying and making all sorts of gestures. Tai smiled to himself, realizing the key to getting Yamato to calm down and open up was to keep him talking.

"Weird…" Tai trailed off, realizing it would be stupid of him to just keep nodding.

"Yeah, kind of. But it's so cool," Yamato said, jumping off of his bed and standing in the middle of the room with Tai's eyes still trained on him.

"Anyway, so then everybody just avoids the whole subject about Simon's death. Ralph's going nuts trying to figure out how to get them all back together and how to keep a signal fire going and he's all worried about Simon's death, convinced that they murdered him, which they did. So then later one night, Jack and a few of his boys sneak to Ralph's camp. It was really dark, so the other boys couldn't see much. One of Jack's boys hit one of Ralph's causing them to start a big fight between the four of them, Ralph, Sam, Eric, and Piggy anyway. They were just kicking and punching eachother with all their might." Yamato imitated their fighting with his own play punches and kicks.

"So, while they're distracted, Jack steals Piggy's glasses, which are the main source of the fire. The next morning, the boys walk over to Jack's camp, determined to get the glasses back. Piggy's got the conch in hand, ready to stand up to Jack. According to the book, if somebody had the conch, they were allowed to speak with no interruptions. Piggy was one of those guys who always was walked on top of," Yamato continued on, darting around the room in random directions, picking up the book as the conch.

"So they go up to Jack and Piggy demands for the glasses back, which were already busted in half from a previous time where Jack smacked Piggy in the face. While this is going on, the boys of Jack's tribe are throwing little rocks at them, trying to get Piggy to shut up. Piggy stands tall and continues to talk." Yamato suddenly pounced on Tai's bed, towering over the other boy and watching him intently.

"So finally having enough of this whole situation, one of Jack's main men, Roger, pushes this **huge** boulder off of the side of the cliff from the top, where he was standing. This rock hits Piggy square on the head, knocking him off of the cliff and he bounced off and down to the beach, where his dead body is washed out into the sea as well." Yamato fell off of the bed, bouncing onto his own 'beach'. He then stood up, and dusted himself off.

"And that's as far as I am. I've still got about one chapter to go," Yamato added in as he climbed back onto his own bed.

"Amazing," Tai breathed out, and he wasn't talking about the book. It was so incredible for him to see Yamato like this. Yamato curled back up onto his bed and pulled a blanket over him.

"Going to bed?" Tai asked him gently, not wanting to break this serenity the other boy seemed to have found.

"Uh-huh. Mind turning off the light?" Yamato said in a slightly drowsy voice. Tai simply nodded and shut out his light. He crawled into his own bed, yawning quietly. Yamato was already sound asleep. Tai once again found himself staring at the other boy. When he was asleep, Yamato lost the cold, hard, and angry look on his face. Instead, it was replaced by a peaceful, comfortable look. Tai smiled and rolled over.

"Looks like I found the crack in his shell," he said to himself before falling asleep as well.

* * *

The next morning, Tai woke up slowly, trying to avoid the light. He opened his eyes and found Yamato filling his school bag with papers. 

"About time you woke up. It's already breakfast and class starts in 45 minutes," Yamato said sharply and then went back to ignoring him. Tai yawned and raised an eyebrow.

"Grouchy in the morning, aren't you?" he asked in a sleepy as he crawled out of bed.

"Just shut up and go put some pants on," Yamato replied harshly. This reaction puzzled Tai.

'_What happened to the Yamato from last night? He just had a relapse and went back to being…rude.' _Tai thought to himself as he pulled his uniform on.

"Whoever thought to make us wear green was highly desperate for medical attention," Yamato muttered to himself as he fixed his black tie.

"You always have to find something to complain about, don't you?" Tai tilted his head to one side, still puzzled by the blond's actions.

"I only complain about things I don't like," Yamato simply replied.

"And that would be…?" Tai questioned, feeling more clueless by the moment

"That would be this school, this uniform, and you," the American boy stated and grabbed his bag. He heaved it onto his shoulder and marched out of the room, leaving an even more clueless, not to mention hurt, Tai.

"Jeeze," he sighed and shook his head, stuffing his feet into his shoes. Grabbing his bag, he locked the door and went to find Daisuke.

"So what happened?" Daisuke asked as he shoved another piece of toast down his throat.

"I don't know. It's like a split personality. I mean, last night, yeah he was sort of moody. But then he starts talking about this book and he was so bubbly and happy," Tai explained.

"That sounds kind of freaky." Daisuke raised his eyebrow.

"It was unexpected, that's for sure. But he was really calm. And then he was peaceful and fell asleep. So then this morning, I wake up and he was back to his normal, cold self," Tai finished off.

"There's something else bothering you," Daisuke observed. Tai shrugged, and continued to play with his cereal. Dai reached over and grabbed Tai's spoon.

"What did he say, Tai?" Daisuke asked sternly. Tai sighed and looked away.

"He said he didn't like me, or this place," Tai replied.

"Well you didn't like this place very much either," Daisuke reminded him.

"Yeah but at least I wasn't rude to people for no good reason!" Tai exclaimed.

"Settle down, jeeze. Just remember, you have the charm, Tai. If you can make him become all, 'bubbly' as you put it, then you can fix him," Daisuke reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess," Tai sighed again just as the bell rang. Both boys rose from the table and walked out of the dining hall.

"I'll see you in second class okay?" Daisuke stated more then asked.

"Yeah, see ya." Tai waved and walked down a different hallway. Stopping at the third door on his left, he walked into the room and spotted Yamato just ahead of him. Taking two large strides, he reached his side and grinned widely

"Hey," Tai greeted him. Looking over his shoulder, Yamato groaned and shook his head.

"God, help me," he begged and flopped down into a seat. Tai stopped at the desk on Yamato's right and leaned back against it, staring down at the blue-eyed boy.

"What's that suppose to mean?" the brunet questioned, crossing his right ankle over his left.

"Why won't you go away?" Yamato mumbled mostly to himself, yet loud enough for Tai to hear.

"Why do you want to be alone?" he instantly rebuttaled. Yamato started to reply, but words failed him, which was quite a shock to both of them. The teen was usually full of witty remarks, but this time it was different.

"I know you don't want to be alone, Yamato. I know that you know it too," Tai whispered to him quietly just as the final bell rang. He spun around and marched back to his own seat, leaving a wondering Yamato in his wake.

'_What does _**he** _know anyway? I mean, I don't care about being alone. I'm used to it. I don't care at all! Do I…?'_ the blond sighed at the prospect and turned his attention towards the door as the teacher walked in. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, shaggy brown hair shading water-colored eyes and standing at about 6'6".

"Morning everybody," he greeted his class as he kicked the door closed behind him.

"Morning, Eiri," most of the boys chorused back.

"He goes by his first name?" Yamato wondered aloud. Eiri's gaze fell onto him at the sound of the new voice.

"Judging by the fact that you're the only blond in this room, I would say that you're Ishida Yamato, right?" Eiri addressed him, looking over him with mild interest.

"Yeah, sure," he spoke in a tone of boredom that he had evidently practiced.

"Okay, gotcha." Eiri nodded and grabbed a history textbook from behind him. "Guys, grab your books and turn to page 174. Today we're learning about…" It was then Yamato decided to tune him out. He could catch up later, it wasn't that hard. History was actually something he was good at. He took out his notebook and turned to a fresh page, idly scribbling random words to give the illusion that he was actually taking notes. However, one thing bothered him, and it was something he never would have guessed would bother him to begin with.

'_Why is Tai being so nice to me? I keep belittling, snapping, and fighting him off, but he keeps coming back. What's his motive?'_ A loud thunk to his left snapped him back to attention. He whirled his head around and spotted Tai with his head on his desk, snoring quietly. Yamato resisted the urge to snicker and shook his head.

'_Oh well, who cares? It's not like I'm going to let him get to me anyway.'_ He nodded to himself and continued doodling in his notebook. However, he couldn't help it when he glanced over to his left once more, just to see if Tai was still snoring. He also couldn't help it when a small smile graced his lips upon seeing the brunet sound asleep.

* * *

The bell rang to signal the end of first lesson and to warn students to head to second. Tai bounced out of Eiri's class and down the hallway to his Creative Writing class, feeling fully rejuvenated from his nap session. However, he failed to notice that Daisuke was waiting for him by the door and he crashed right into the younger boy, knocking both of them on their feet. 

"Ow," Daisuke said bluntly as he glared at Tai who landed on top. The older brunet merely shrugged apologetically and pulled him up.

"Um, oops?" Tai grinned uneasily.

"Shut up," Daisuke said firmly and dragged Tai into class.

"Don't be like that, Little One," Tai teased him as Daisuke took his seat.

"Whatever," the younger boy replied, taking out a notebook and a pen.

"Dude, Yamato's in my first class." Tai grinned and took a seat next to him.

"This one too apparently," Daisuke shot back without looking up. Tai snapped his head up and looked. Sure enough, there was Yamato sitting on the other side of the room, absorbed in his notebook and attached to his headphones. Tai grinned suddenly, grabbed his bag, and got out of his seat. Daisuke's words from that morning ran through his mind as he confidently marched over to the blond boy. Sliding into the seat next to him, he leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey," he greeted him cheerfully as if he didn't snap at him this morning. Yamato looked up from his writing and whipped off his headphones, giving Tai a cold stare in return.

"What?" he asked, not caring that he may have come off as rude. After all, it was the boy's own fault for not getting the hint the first time he said to leave him alone.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to hold a conversation. Is that a crime?" the Japanese boy chirped, propping his feet up on his desk.

"It is if the other party doesn't wish to converse with you," Yamato sighed, folding his arms over his chest.

'_This guy is impossible! It's hard to tell if he's really stubborn or just really stupid.' _He shook his head slightly and looked back to the boy next to him.

"Look, I know you don't like me. But, you never said why and I want to know," Tai said flat-out. He never was one for using tact in his speech.

"Just because."

"Oh yeah, **that's** a good reason, spectacular in fact!" Tai rolled his eyes and dropped his feet, turning his body to fully face the other teenaged boy. More students were starting to pile in as the final bell sounded off and each of them sent curious glances Tai's way.

"Why do I need to justify myself? **Go away!**" Yamato finally snapped and stood up, fully prepared to move into a seat far away from the mud-eyed boy.

"Sorry, you can't get rid of me that easily," Tai replied, examining his fingernails in fascination.

"Urgh! Just **leave**. **Me.** **Alone!**" Yamato yelled with all of his might, just as the teacher walked into the classroom. All was silent as the older woman stared at Yamato and the young blond stared right back. The teacher set down her briefcase and stood in front of her desk, leaning against it as she kept her attention on her target.

"Well, you must be Yamato," she observed and smiled what was supposed to be a friendly smile, but it was laced with a hint of amusement. Yamato blinked and forced himself not to crawl out of the room right then and there.

"Uh, yeah, that's me. Sorry…about blowing up…and I think I'll just sit down now," he trailed off and sat back down, feeling rather foolish about his previous outburst.

"No problem, there are days I feel like blowing up too after dealing with Tai," the older brunet woman replied, ignoring all protests from said boy. Suddenly coming up with an idea, she motioned for Yamato to stand up again.

"Look, I know screaming bloody murder wasn't the best thing ever, but it's really not necessary to punish me, is it?" Yamato's hand twitched as he pushed himself out of his chair, walking up to the front of the room. The teacher laughed out loud this time and shook her head.

"Oh no, this isn't a punishment," she explained. Yamato sighed in relief at this new fact. The last thing he needed was another bad record. However, his celebration came too soon. "I want you to introduce and tell us about yourself!" the teacher finished gleefully, leaving Yamato to stare at her with wide eyes and a slightly dropped jaw.

"…you're kidding, aren't you?" The teacher shook her head and smiled. Both she and Yamato knew that this was indeed a form of punishment…just slightly more embarrassing. Grumbling to himself, Yamato slipped his hands into the pockets of his blazer and stared at the ceiling.

"All right. My name's Yamato Ishida, Ishida Yamato, whatever. I'm 15 and unwilling to be here. My father let my evil stepmother send me here without my consent and I like music so you'll generally see me with my headphones on. If any of you try to bother you, I will simply say to drop dead. The end," Yamato finished and sat down. Tai was sitting on his right snickering behind his hand, quickly receiving a quick kick to the shin to shut up. Blinking in surprise and grinning with humor, the green-eyed teacher nodded in Yamato's direction.

"Thank you. Now, just to be fair, I will introduce myself. I'm Nakuru Seguchi; you may call me Naku-sensei, or even just plain Naku. I'm pretty slack when it comes to how I teach my class and I do my best to keep most of you awake," Naku threw a glance in Tai's direction this time, leaving the boy to grin sheepishly. "This is Creative Writing and I hope that you're going to enjoy it to the maximum. If not, feel free to complain!" Turning her attention back to the class, she grinned and walked around her desk to the other side. Grabbing a piece of chalk, she started writing out a list in swirly handwriting.

"Okay, guys, grab your notebooks and flip to a new page," she went back to speaking to the whole class.

"Are we starting a new assignment, Ms. S?" Daisuke asked her.

"That we are, Dais. You catch on fast," Naku said jokingly.

"Funny, Seguchi," Daisuke said in mild annoyance but grinned in return.

"All right, so what was the last assignment I gave you?" Naku asked her class. Tai's hand shot up.

"Ah, for once Yagami's awake," Naku spoke in mock surprise.

"I'm always awake in this class. I sleep in Eiri's class," Tai grinned at her.

"Makes sense. Anyway, go ahead, Tai," Naku encouraged the brunet to keep speaking.

"Well, the last thing you had us work on was a short story of our choice," Tai replied.

"And did you all finish that?" Naku asked. Most of the class nodded or verbally said yes. "Great, so we can move on. I think today, we'll try something different," she continued.

"How…different?" a boy named Takota spoke up.

"Impromptu, Ritter. Does that answer your question?" Naku countered with another question to the black-haired boy.

"Unfortunately," Takota sighed.

"All right. So, here's what I'm going to do. You have until the end of class to finish. This can be written however you want, and they shall be handed in at the end of the period. This is a challenge, boys," Naku continued as she paced around the room.

"Challenges are always good," Tai interrupted.

"Glad you feel that way, Tai. As I was saying, this is a challenge. The challenge being, you must use certain things in your story. Those things being: the color blue, a nonsense quote, a bagel, mentioning of whatever band you please, a book, someone being sad, the word whatever, a bar of soap, and a fairy," Naku read off of the board and rewarded the boys with a wide grin.

"Naku, you are **extremely** weird." Tai raised an eyebrow.

"You'd have to be weird yourself to know that, Yagami," Naku replied smoothly, causing Tai to stick out his tongue in a childish manner. "Any questions?" Naku returned her attention to the whole class. One boy raised his hand.

"Mr. Matthews, you cannot just write the words down and call it good," Naku answered without calling on him.

"How do you know that's what I was going to ask?" the boy with light brown hair asked.

"Well then Kayden, what were you going to ask?" Naku questioned him.

"Just that." Kayden smiled, followed by a few laughs from the class and Naku rolling her eyes.

"All right guys that's enough. I suggest you all get started," Naku said, sending all the boys into a flurry of writing. Tai sat at his desk, pen in hand, and staring at his list. His mind was drawing a complete blank. He looked over to Daisuke who was chewing on his pen thoughtfully, before writing down some more words. Tai sighed and closed his eyes, hoping for any ideas. He re-opened them and looked back at Yamato. He watched the blond as he furiously scribbled words onto the paper, not pausing for anything. Tai blinked in surprise and then grinned.

"That's it!" he whispered excitedly. He turned to a new page and started to write.

'_Why is it that people try to hide their true identities? It doesn't make much sense to me. But I know of one blue-eyed devil that is like that. He tried to pretend that he's so cool and tough, but truly, I know he's sad. Aren't we all when we first arrive here? He's not any different. He arrived yesterday sometime, from the states I believe. Immediately, he shut me out. If only I had a bar of soap to wash his mouth out with after the string of profanity he shot at me after I woke him up. His favorite words seem to be go away and whatever. He was listening to Linkin Park while I was in the dining hall. The only reason I know this is because I found the CD in my big player this morning. Anyways, so when I did come back, we fought like cats and dogs on a hot December morning over a bowl of pickled beats. He was at first ignoring me, until I noticed he was reading a book. Lord of the Flies, I believe it was called. He started bouncing around the room, telling me everything about the book. It was actually quite amazing, seeing him like that. And then he was gentle and peaceful as he fell asleep. Then today, everything was back to the way it was: rude and cold. As I sat down, eating my bagel, I tried to figure out what was going on. It's almost impossible. I can't take this anymore. He hates me for no reason. I wish there were a fairy godmother around right about now. Then I'd wish that he would just open up and let me be friends with him. Just to break his icy exterior and get to his heart...'_

Tai sighed and ripped out his page, just as the bell rang. He scribbled his name on the paper and handed it to Naku as he dragged himself out of the classroom.

* * *

The time was now noon, lunch time. Tai was still in an off-handed mood as he flopped down at a table with Daisuke. 

"What's wrong?" Daisuke asked him for the second time that day.

"Huh?" Tai looked up at his friend.

"What's wrong? You've been like this since second class," Daisuke pointed out.

"Nothing important," Tai sighed.

"And you're not eating," Daisuke noted as he grabbed Tai's shoulders. **"This is not normal for you!"** he yelled, shaking Tai around in the process.

"Dai, let go," Tai protested and yanked the hands off of his shoulders.

"But no, what's going on?" Daisuke asked him again.

"I never thought it would be this hard to get through to him," Tai sighed again and dropped his head onto the table.

"Well, just keep trying?" Daisuke suggested.

"I'm about to give up. He doesn't want to and I guess we should just leave him until he feels more comfortable," Tai replied. He got to his feet and grabbed his bag.

"Where are you going?" Daisuke asked him.

"Just tell Mr. Akiyamo that I wasn't feeling very well," Tai said shortly and walked away.

"That doesn't tell me much!" Daisuke yelled after him. Tai turned around and smacked him.

"Yell any louder why don't you? I'm just gonna go take a nap or something," Tai told him quietly.

"You okay?" Daisuke asked.

"I just said I didn't feel well, Reject." Tai shook his head at Daisuke's obliviousness.

"Oh, right." Daisuke gave him a sheepish grin.

"See ya later." Tai waved and walked away from Daisuke. He walked upstairs and turned the corner to his room, where a surprise sat for him.

"What are you doing, Yamato?" Tai asked him as he stepped a bit closer.

"Well, I **wanted** to go to my room and wait until lunch was over, but **somebody** locked the door," he said pointedly. Tai smiled sheepishly, much like Daisuke had a few moments before and started to dig through his bag.

"Sorry about that. I thought you had a key. And it's **our** room," Tai reminded him as he searched his book bag.

"Nope, didn't think you'd lock the door," Yamato said curtly, gracefully stepping over the last comment. Tai shrugged and shook his head, turning his entire book bag upside down. All contents inside spilled out, scattering in all directions. Tai shifted through his pile of papers and books, and checked every pocket once again.

"Uh-oh," he whispered to himself. However, Yamato still heard him.

"What uh-oh?" Yamato asked him.

"Um…well…" Tai trailed off. It clicked in Yamato's head what had happened.

"You don't have a key?" Yamato asked in disbelief.

"Um, no?" Tai said unsurely.

"You idiot! Now we're **both** locked out!" Yamato yelled at him, banging his head against the wall. Tai groaned and sank to the floor.

"Sorry. I thought I grabbed it, I really did," he said, hoping Yamato would stop banging his head.

"Well, you didn't, and now we're both stuck out here," Yamato spat out bitterly as he finally stopped banging his head, seeing as how much it hurt. Neither boy said anything, as they were lost in their own thoughts. After an eternity, Tai spoke once again.

"Why do you hate me?" he asked the blond.

"What?"

"Why do you hate me?" Tai repeated, now facing the American.

"Because it's so easy." the blond smirked. Tai rolled his eyes at the typical reply, causing Yamato to sigh and shrug instead. "Seriously though, I…don't," he said slowly, somewhat surprised at this revelation himself.

"Then what's with the 'tude?"

"I'm used to acting like this." Yamato shrugged again.

"You're used to acting like a jackass?" Tai raised his eyebrow.

"Hey, now **that** is crossing the line." Yamato scowled at him.

"It's true."

"Fine, it is."

"Why? Why do you push everybody away from you? Why…"

"**Why** is that any of your business?" Yamato stopped him.

"I just want to know. It's not like there's a real good reason behind it," Tai shot back.

"Oh, like you would know," Yamato growled.

"I would if you would take your head out of your ass and explain it to me!" Tai said exasperatedly, getting rather frustrated with the other boy.

"I just like my space."

"And?"

"And what?"

"There's something else. What is it?" Tai pressed on.

"Why am I telling you all of this?" Yamato asked him suddenly, catching the other boy off guard.

"Because until Daisuke decides to come check on me, which will be about another 5 hours by the way, we're stuck out here. So there's really no harm in telling me," Tai said, moving to sit in front of the other boy. Yamato sighed again and ran a hand through his blond mess.

"Look. Back in New York, everybody hated me, okay?" he said quietly.

"Why?"

"You ask that a lot, don't you?"

"Because I want to know. Now why would people hate you?" Tai tilted his head in question.

"Mostly because they didn't understand." Yamato bit down on his pale pink lip.

"Understand what?"

"Anything. Nobody understood anything about my family, nobody understood anything about my personality, and nobody understood anything about what I became. More so, they just didn't take the time to understand and just decided to avoid me. So I became the anti-everything, which is what you see today," Yamato finished.

"That doesn't make sense. That's kind of mean actually," Tai remarked, seeing the boy in a new perspective.

"Yeah, I got used to it. No big deal," Yamato said casually, although apparently, it was a big deal. Tai could easily tell.

"Well, stop," he said to him at last.

"Excuse me?" Yamato raised an eyebrow.

"Stop being anti-everything. Anti-social, anti-friendly, anti-talking? Yeah, don't count on things staying that way, pal. In this place, you have people stick to you like glue and everybody's all one big family I guess is the only way to explain it," Tai shared his insight of the school.

"It's hard to change once the damage has been done," Yamato replied.

"You can try…and I can help." Tai smiled. The blond looked at him and contemplated his offer.

'_Well, on one hand, I can trust Tai and see what he does. But he might hurt me or be doing this as a joke like all those others. Or, on the other hand, I can ignore him and stay as the cool Anti-Ishida.'_ He continued studying the other boy, hoping for some signs to tell him what to do.

"Seriously, Yamato. All I want to do is help you and be friends with you. That's all I ask," Tai said, seeing that the boy wasn't making any sudden decisions.

'_Must have been burned in the past. Well duh, nobody's born _**that**_ cynical!'_ Tai thought grimly. Yamato kept watching the brunette, judging him

'_He _**seems** _sincere. But, should I give him a chance?'_ Yamato continued to argue with himself.

"So what do you think? If you want me to leave you alone, I will. But I want to be around you and help as much as I can," Tai said, hoping the other boy would choose the latter. Yamato shifted his gaze to the floor and finally nodded. A small nod mind you, but a nod nonetheless.

"All right," he said quietly. Tai grinned joyously.

"Great. Things will be much easier if we're friends instead of trying to kill each other," Tai joked. Yamato gave him a small smile in return.

"I suppose so," he agreed, looking back up at the brunet. Tai nodded and leaned back against the wall.

"Well, now what?" Yamato asked him.

"We wait until somebody comes along with a key, or we can go to class," Tai replied. Yamato's face twisted into a look of disgust and he shook his head from side to side.

"Let's not," he declared quickly. Tai laughed at his friend's antics. Yes, he now was able to consider Yamato a friend. They were sent back into their realm of silence.

"Well, where do we start first?" Yamato asked, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Tai countered.

"With changing me. Where do we start?" Yamato repeated himself. Tai bit his lip in thought.

"Well, what about a nickname?" Tai suggested. Yamato raised his eyebrow again.

"A nickname?" he spoke in a doubtful tone.

"Yeah, like how everybody calls me Tai instead of Taichi. Got a nickname?" Tai asked, already thinking of one instead.

"Not really," the blond responded. Tai went back to his thinking, the little hamsters racing on their wheels in his mind.

"What about…Matt?" he asked, seeing how it made perfect sense. Yamato said nothing as he thought it over.

"Why didn't anybody else think of that? I mean, it makes perfect sense," Yamato said with quiet realization. He smiled a bit, more like a smirk. "Actually I take that back. I haven't been called that since I was like, six maybe?"

"Why?"

"Mimi moved away when we were in third grade."

"Who's Mimi?"

"Old friend, very old friend. She never could pronounce my name right when we were kids," Yamato said wistfully, losing himself in different memories. Tai nodded and didn't press the issue further.

"So, what do you think, Matt?" Tai asked, using the nickname for the first time in a long time. Yamato grinned shyly and nodded.

"Matt. Sounds great," he said with a slightly hint of confidence, something else that hadn't been used in a long time.

* * *

A few weeks had gone by since that day that Yamato became Matt. It was a struggle at first to get him to open up and be sociable, but nothing Tai and Daisuke couldn't handle. Shoving him into awkward situations seemed to be their favorite way of making him socialize. Slowly but surely, a lot of their schoolmates came to realize that the quiet blond boy wasn't some rabid monster that would attack on movement but instead a rather interesting, unique, and well, basically, he was just one of them. 

Naturally, it was all thanks to Tai. He had been the only one brave enough (or dumb enough, depending on how you looked at it) to approach Matt and attempt to mold him. Mold him he did. He had created something that no one had ever seen before, not even Matt himself. He had created his true personality. This pleased Matt highly and he began to get closer to Tai, letting him become better friends with him. For the first time in a long while, Matt was beginning to feel accepted in the scenes around him. It almost felt too good to be real and perhaps it was, but he didn't mind, just so long as he didn't wake up.

But as the saying goes, a streak of good things must be followed by a streak of bad things. This was even true in Matt's case, even though he wished it weren't that way. It was that one day, a Friday it seemed, that he woke up and realized the truth.

"Hey, did either of you finish your science homework yet?" Daisuke asked both boys at lunch that day.

"Dude, you were **supposed** to do it yesterday!" Tai replied.

"That's why it's called homework, Dais," Matt added, stabbing at his food.

"Guys, I don't understand it," Daisuke moaned and hit his head on the table, narrowly avoiding Tai's plate. Matt shook his head and got up.

"I left mine up in the room anyway. You coming, Tai?" Matt queried over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Tai replied and got up as well.

"Why do you both have to go?" Daisuke asked them.

"So then we can talk about you behind your back easily this way," Matt joked.

"Mean." Daisuke stuck his tongue out.

"We'll be back," Tai said and both older boys walked away.

"Does Dai ever do his own homework?" Matt asked his tan companion

"Nope. Only for certain classes. But science isn't his strong point, so I don't blame him," Tai replied as he opened the door to their room. Matt walked in and started looking around his desk.

"Hey, have you seen my homework?" he asked Tai. The mud-eyed boy began to open his mouth when something inside his mind triggered.

"Why are you asking me?" he spoke in a cold tone, one that could easily rival Matt's old tone.

"Because you live here too?" Matt replied questioningly, not noticing his friend's odd change.

"Yeah, I do. What are you gonna do about it?" Tai asked as he set up all defenses.

"Um, nothing," Matt said and turned to face his friend.

"That's right. Why are you even here? You shouldn't be here," Tai stated, advancing on Matt slowly.

"Tai, what are you doing?" Matt asked, now realizing that there was something very odd about him.

"You shouldn't be here. Actually, let me correct myself. You **can't** be here," Tai threatened.

"Tai, what are you doing?" Matt repeated more firmly.

"I'm not going to wait for you to kill me," Tai said and stood right in front of Matt.

"What?"

"I'm getting you first," Tai replied. As fast as lightning, Tai had his hands latched onto Matt's neck.

"Tai, what the hell?" Matt yelled, voice slightly strangled as Tai choked him. Suddenly the door burst open and Daisuke ran in.

"Oh no," he whispered and ran up to Matt. "Tai, let him go," Daisuke instructed him as he pulled his hands off of Matt's neck. Matt gasped as air moved into his lungs again.

"You're no match for me either," Tai snarled as he still tried to fight Daisuke.

"Matt, help me restrain him. We need to get him to the nurse," Daisuke panted as he held Tai's arms down, preventing him from using them. Matt nodded and grabbed Tai's legs, confused about what was going on.

"**Let me go!"** Tai yelled as the two other boys carried him to the nurse, ignoring the looks other students were sending him. He started squirming around, trying to get out of reach with his limbs flailing in every direction. Daisuke kicked the door opened and they brought Tai inside. The nurse looked up, surprised written on her face.

"What's going on?" she asked Daisuke.

"Another fit. Did he come in to you this morning, Jenatsu?" Daisuke asked her.

"No," she replied and leaned over Tai.

"Why can't you all just leave me alone?" Tai whimpered, still struggling against the two boys.

"We're going to have to sedate him. Run along boys, he'll be fine in about an hour," Jenatsu told them as she grabbed a needle for the sedation. Daisuke and Matt walked out of the office, still able to hear Tai's screams of agony and anger. Neither boy said anything as they walked down the hall. Eventually, Matt couldn't take it anymore.

"What happened just now?" he asked Daisuke.

"Tai just had another fit. It happens when he doesn't take his medication," Daisuke replied as if it were an everyday occurrence. Oh, if only Matt knew.

"What?" Matt was lost beyond belief.

"Didn't he tell you?" Daisuke asked, quirking an eyebrow in surprise.

"Tell me what?" Matt pressed on, wanting real answers. Daisuke sighed and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Tai's a schizophrenic."

"What?" Matt was shocked at this new discovery, to say the least. Truthfully, shocked didn't even begin to cover it.

"Yeah, surprised he never told you. After all, it's been almost three weeks now," Daisuke said, shrugging off Matt's surprise.

"Dai, where exactly are we?" Matt asked, suddenly fearing the worse. Daisuke's expression became grim.

"Well?" Matt pressed impatiently. Daisuke slowly turned to him, eyes blank of all emotion.

"Welcome to Odaiba Academy, Matt. School for the mental," Daisuke said plainly, leaving Ishida Yamato in complete disbelief and reverence.

* * *

Again, I revamped it, so hope you enjoy it! I wish I could individually reply but is evil. So thanks to: **Moumoukech**, Sakura blossoms4, **Redrum**, nEo-cHaN, **Kurochan**, WildfireFriendship, **Sillie**, Quazimodo, **Lil Yaten Fae**, Kantomon, **Aero-Grrl**, Bh, **Lil Gold Fishie**, shadow-seraph, **Angel214**, ItsSadYouSuck, and **Luna-sky.**


	3. Memory

_**Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things.**_

_**-Cicero **_

* * *

Matt stared at Daisuke in disbelief, watching the cinnamon-eyed boy as he leaned against the wall nonchalantly. 

"You're kidding right? Please say you're kidding," Matt begged, allowing his eyes to wander around the hallway slowly. Daisuke gave him a lopsided grin and shrugged.

"Wish I could say I was, but I'm not," Daisuke said half-heartedly. He pushed himself off of the wall and started walking away. Matt quickly followed him.

"I don't understand it."

"Face it, Matt. Your father thinks you have some mental disorder," Daisuke explained, still grinning as he bounced down the hallway. Matt didn't reply as he followed the hyperactive preteen. He had never been in Daisuke's room, but he knew that it was only a little way down the hall from his and Tai's. Daisuke pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. The two boys stepped inside as Daisuke shut the door behind him.

"So, explain this whole thing to me," Matt demanded him as he sat down on the couch. Daisuke tilted his head slightly and gave him a questioning look.

"What's there to really explain? This is a private all-boys boarding school. Most of the people here have some mental disorder or personality defect but some are just here because of the education. Even though it sounds like a bad school, the education is one of the best in Japan," he explained.

"I see..." Matt trailed off. Daisuke nodded and lay on his back on the bed, folding his arms behind his head.

"It's really a great school. I like it better here then I do at home and I know Tai does too," he said and watched the ceiling fan spin.

"You and Tai seem to be really close," Matt commented.

"Yeah, I suppose it's because we're brothers."

"You're that close?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"No, we're seriously brothers; half brothers actually," Daisuke replied, closing his eyes slowly.

"No way."

"Way. Same mom, different dads. Hikari's my half sister too."

"Who's Hikari?"

"Tai's full-blooded sister and my half-sister," Daisuke repeated himself. Matt blinked and realized that he just asked a pretty ridiculous question.

'_I should have been able to figure that out myself.' _He shook his head in disgust.

"Never would have guessed that you two are actually related," he voiced something other than his thoughts. "Although you both do have similar qualities," he added as an afterthought, studying Daisuke closely.

"Like what?"

"You both have the same expressive eyes. Not to mention the same spiky hair gene." Matt smirked. Daisuke laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Definitely. But it's sort of odd."

"What is?"

"How close we really are."

"How is that odd?"

"Tai hated me up until about three years ago!" Daisuke grinned again. Matt felt his eyes widen and he was pretty sure his mouth was slightly open.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. Why would I be?" Daisuke sat up and leaned against the wall behind his bed.

"Well, I'm not quite sure, he just did. Every time I tried to get close to Tai emotionally or literally, he would push me away. I'm guessing it's just because he didn't like my father very much, so he took it all out on me."

"That wasn't very fair," Matt injected.

"True, but I was just a kid at the time. It's not like I knew any better," Daisuke said with shrug. "Although, everything changed about the time I had just turned nine," he trailed off, launching into a story.

_

* * *

A 12-year-old Tai stood by his window, watching the city below rush by. No one else was home that night._

"_Nobody except that stupid brat," Tai murmured to himself. He was supposed to be looking after his half-brother, Daisuke, who was only nine years old. But in all honesty, Tai didn't see any point in it. All he needed to do was make sure he didn't leave the house. That couldn't be too hard since he stayed in his room since their "parents" left. More like, Tai's mother and Daisuke's father, Michael. Tai never did like Michael very much. There was just something not right about him. Something that Tai didn't trust. _

"_And he thinks that he can replace my real father. Whatever," Tai sighed. His gaze shifted down to his right hand, where he had a .45 pistol clutched in his grasp. He knew a lot of things that his mom and Michael didn't think that he knew, such as the location of Michael's guns. _

"_Of course, this can be used to my advantage," Tai said, gently twirling the gun in his fingers. He had finally reached the end of his rope. His mother was too occupied with Serena and Daisuke and Michael just didn't care about him. _

"_Hell, he doesn't even care about his own kid," Tai talked to himself again. Michael never really showed any affection to the little boy, so he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the kid. But Tai didn't care anymore; he was just sick of it all It was easier to end it all now than to try and figure out what was going through his mind. He slowly brought the gun up, pointing it towards his head. He cocked it and prepared to pull the trigger._

"_Tai!" His bedroom door banged open. Startled, Tai pulled away the gun and fired it at the door._

"_Daisuke look out!" Tai cried out. The bullet zoomed right at Daisuke and went through the wall, just above his head. Daisuke's eyes were wide in surprise as he looked upward at the hole._

"_Be glad that you're short," Tai breathed out. Daisuke was visibly shaking in his place._

"_Tai…what were you doing?" Daisuke whispered, shifting his gaze between the hole and Tai._

"_I…don't really know actually," Tai sighed and sank onto his bed. Daisuke stayed leaning against the wall, watching his older brother. _

"_Daisuke, do you know what suicide is?" Tai asked the younger boy. Daisuke nodded slowly._

"_It's where you die on purpose, right?" he asked, looking at Tai with bright and innocent eyes, making Tai feel even worse about what he had just done._

"_Right. Well, that's what happened."_

"_You tried committing suicide?" Daisuke asked in disbelief as his hero told him all of this._

"_Was trying too..." Tai trailed off._

"_But why?" Daisuke's eyes filled with tears as he inched closer._

"_It's hard to explain. You're just too little to understand." Tai shrugged. Daisuke sighed and crawled up on the bed with Tai._

"_In other words, you don't know yourself," the younger boy translated, earning himself a semi-harsh glare._

"_No, I know why…I just really don't feel like explaining," Tai clarified and looked away from his brother. "Mom just got so wrapped up with taking care of you and Hika's dance classes and work and everything was just falling apart," he continued, staring blankly at the wall to avoid the worried brown eyes that were watching his every move. _

"_I'm sorry, Tai," Daisuke said sadly as he did the unexpected. He crawled into Tai's lap and hugged him. Tai sat there blinking in surprise at the little ball of spiky mahogany hair. _

"_It's not your fault," Tai replied to him. Daisuke shrugged and clung to him tighter._

"_I still love you," he said quietly. Tai starting blinking rapidly and hugged the boy back, finally breaking down. Daisuke didn't say anything as tears flowed down Tai's face. He was wise for his age; wise enough to know that it was best not to say anything and let Tai cry everything out of his system. It was silent between the two boys, aside from a few occasional sniffles from Tai. Soon, those had disappeared too, causing the younger boy to look up. Seeing that Tai's eyes had closed, he gently loosened the embrace and crawled off of Tai's bed. He silently padded over to the door, shut off the light, and closed the door behind him._

* * *

"No one else knows about it except for me and Tai. He made me promise never to speak of it ever again," Daisuke finished. 

"So he tried to kill himself and you stopped him," Matt repeated cautiously.

"Yup."

"Wow. So is he like in total debt?"

"No, not exactly. It's kind of an eye for eye, tooth for tooth kind of thing."

"What has Tai done for you?"

"He brought me here. That was probably the best thing he could have ever done for me," Daisuke said with another smile. Matt nodded and his eyes wandered around the boy's room. It only had a standard bed, a desk, a laptop, a closet, and a small bathroom, along with a TV and an old Playstation.

"Do you live by yourself in here?" he asked the younger boy, gaze returning to Daisuke's face.

"Uh-huh. They figured it would be better that way," he stated as he nodded. Matt returned to his silent composure, questions plaguing at his mind.

"Daisuke, let me ask you something."

"Fire away," the other boy said, locking his brown orbs onto Matt's blue ones.

"Why are you here?" Matt blurted out. Daisuke raised an eyebrow while Matt sank further into the desk chair.

"Well, they said that I have some sort of mood disorder," Daisuke replied.

"That being?" Matt trailed off.

"Apparently, I'm overly happy. The common symptoms are feeling very high, very enthusiastic and quickly moving between subjects; feeling very important, able or attractive; changing sleeping patterns i.e. going to bed very late and getting up very early; feeling very comfortable, secure, loved or fearless; becoming very active, rushing around, talking a great deal; difficulties in concentrating, making decisions or remembering. Or at least that's what the shrink told my parents. I pretty much just call it A.D.D." Daisuke shrugged. He glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded towards the door. "You better go. I'm sure Tai will be wondering where you are," he noted, rising from his bed to walk Matt out.

"Yeah, I suppose. We'll catch up with you at dinner." Matt waved and walked down the hall. Daisuke nodded and closed the door behind him. Matt walked towards his own room and opened the door where he found Tai sitting on his own bed, hugging his pillow to his chest tightly. Matt closed the door and cautiously walked up to Tai, afraid of what he would do. After all, this was the boy who had just choked him previously.

"I'm going to assume that Daisuke told you," Tai spoke softly as his eyes desperately avoided Matt's own.

"Yeah he did. Question is, why didn't you tell me?" Matt asked, stopping a short distance from Tai. Tai shrugged and looked up at the blond boy.

"I didn't think that this would happen." He replied truthfully.

"That what would happen?"

"That I'd go off into a schizo fit," Tai said carelessly. Matt nodded and shifted his weight to his other foot.

"I see," the blue-eyed boy replied. Tai blinked and stared at him closely.

"You're uncomfortable with me, aren't you?"

"…I don't really know," Matt answered truthfully. Tai threw his hands into the air, suddenly rather frustrated with himself and with Matt.

"Why? Think about it, Matt. I'm not always like that, seriously!" he exclaimed, crawling closer to Matt and standing up.

"Tai, you can't be in control. So we never know when you'll snap," Matt pointed out the main issue. Tai remained quiet for several minutes, thinking over what Matt had just said. He bowed his head and sighed.

"I know…and I'm sorry," he whispered. Matt nodded and walked over to Tai's bed and sat down, patting the spot next to him. Tai gingerly crossed the room, but instead of sitting next to Matt, he chose to sit on his lap. Matt figured it would be better not to object and just made them both more comfortable.

"Why don't you tell me about it? Everything that you've been keeping from me, that is," Matt pried. Tai sighed again and leaned against Matt's chest, playing with the American's fingers to keep him focused.

"Well, where to start?" Tai asked him.

"What about why you and Daisuke are only half brothers," Matt suggested. Tai nodded and started into his story.

"My real father died when I was only about five years old. But before he died, he was a military man. So one time, he was gone for about 10 months, when I was about three. I remember at that time, my mother had to work to help support us, at least until my father came back."

"What did she do?"

"She worked at a strip bar. Not something I'm especially proud of, but I suppose it can't be re-done. So one night, she had this one customer come in. His name was Michael. They had a couple of drinks, Mom gave him a show, and in the end, they ended up sleeping together. Why? We will never know. Either way, nine months later, Dai was born. Now, my father didn't know about any of this because Daisuke was born before he came back. In fact, he was born about a month earlier than he should have been."

"No wonder he's little."

"Yeah, exactly. Anyway, since my mother didn't want my father to find out about him, Daisuke was sent to live with Michael. I was too little to understand it at the time, but I found out later on in life."

"Does Dai know?"

Tai shook his head. "He has no idea. He was too little to understand it and Mom just decided never to tell him," he said with a shrug.

"Why haven't you told him?" Matt asked him.

"What would I say, Matt? 'Hey Daisuke, did you know that you were just a stupid mistake Mom made?' Oh yeah, that'd blow over **real** well," Tai replied sardonically.

"I suppose you have a point," Matt admitted. Tai nodded and closed his eyes.

"Yep, that's pretty much all there is to it." Tai shifted a bit. It was Matt's turn to nod and he moved onto his next question.

"So how did your dad die?" Matt asked. He felt Tai tense up a bit in his lap. "Bad subject?" Matt asked. Tai shook his head slowly and uncertainly.

"No not really. Just sort of, hard to talk about, y'know?"

"You don't have to tell me if you can't handle it," Matt said in reply.

"No it's all right. Really," Tai reassured him. Matt looked at him in doubt, but let him continue.

"Well, it happened like this."

_

* * *

A five-year-old Tai was sitting on a swing in the park, happily flying through the air as his father pushed him from behind._

"_Higher, Dad! Go higher!" Little Tai squealed in delight._

"_All right, here we go!" Mr. Yagami smiled at the little boy and pushed him higher. Tai laughed as he went higher and higher. Mr. Yagami stopped pushing him and stood back, watching over his little boy. He sighed contently and glanced at his watch. _

"_Uh-oh," he said to himself. He stepped up to the swing and slowly stopped Tai. "C'mon Tai, time to go home," he told him, picking him up off of the swing._

"_Aww, but Dad…" Tai whined, wriggling out of his father's grasp._

"_Sorry kiddo, but your mom's orders. Besides, dinner will be ready when we get home," Mr. Yagami replied, taking Tai by the hand as they left the park._

"_Good. I'm getting hungry," Tai told his father as they walked down the street. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man walked up to them._

"_Give me all of your cash now," He commanded him._

"_Sorry, none available," Mr. Yagami replied smoothly before trying to walk away. _

"_I said _**now**_!" the man yelled, yanking a knife from his pocket. He took aim and threw it as hard as he could, driving it right into Mr. Yagami's back, who in turn sank to his knees and keeled over, dropping his wallet on the side. A small scream was heard from Tai, as he watched in horror. The man picked up his knife and the wallet._

"_Pleasure doing business with you," he smirked._

"_Dad!" Tai yelled, rushing up to his dad. The man turned towards Tai quickly._

"_And now to get you out of the way before you squeal kid," he growled, advancing on Tai._

"_Freeze! You are under arrest!" Voices rang out as the place was soon swarmed with cops. Two cops escorted the murderer to the awaiting cop car while some others were looking over Mr. Yagami's body. Nobody noticed the little boy with wild brown hair and tear-filled eyes on the side._

"_Daddy…" he whimpered quietly as tears rolled down his face, just before one of the cops came and picked him up and placed him in a cop car, taking him home._

* * *

"Wow…" Matt said the first thing that came to mind. Tai nodded and sighed. 

"Yeah…now that I actually think about it and talk about it, it sounds so fake. And at the time, it kind of felt fake too. Too bad it wasn't; things just weren't the same after that," he mumbled.

"Well, no kidding. You were a little kid and you watched your father get murdered. Oh yeah, that'll turn out **real **well," Matt stole Tai's quote from earlier. The brunet shook his head and chose not to reply.

"So, how did Daisuke and his dad come to live with you?" Matt changed the subject.

"After my father died, Mom was out applying for a job and she bumped into Michael. I was with her at the time because I wasn't able to go back to kindergarten yet. Something about me not being emotionally stable enough, but anyway. So they started talking and after a while they were at a café and she told him everything. After that, they started seeing each other more often and Michael and Daisuke moved in with us. And about four months later, they got hitched."

"And you hated Daisuke until about three years ago because why?"

"Oh…**that**," Tai paused.

"Yes, that. Now why?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because Daisuke isn't somebody that you just hate for no reason," Matt concurred.

"Look, it's not important that he took away my mother's focus!" Tai blurted out, instantly covering his mouth. Realization dawned on Matt.

"You were jealous of Daisuke, weren't you?"

Tai reluctantly nodded. "Daisuke became Mom's whole world. She dedicated all of her time to him because he was the baby of the family. He's about a year and a half younger than my little sister Hikari, so Mom babied him until he was at least 10. Anyway life went downhill and my mom didn't seem to notice, so I took it out on Dais. I know it wasn't really his fault, but I was young, naïve, foolish."

"You still are," Matt joked.

"Very funny, Blondie."

"Don't call me that," Matt pouted.

"But it suits you so well," Tai smirked, now having the upper hand.

"So sure. Now tell me one last thing."

"What would that be?"

"When did you realize you had a mental problem?" Tai was caught off-guard at this. His face showed a surprised and confused look, but soon melted into a calm exterior.

"Well, would you like to know about the first or second time?" he asked, voice dripping with cynicism, rising up from Matt's lap and the bed.

"What do you mean?" Matt replied, watching as the distressed brunet paced around the room.

"Well, there was this one time I thought about it, but wasn't quite sure."

_

* * *

A 12-year-old Tai was sitting on the couch, watching his two younger siblings play the Playstation 2 they had. Once again, his parents were out and he was babysitting. Of course, he didn't mind anymore, he loved spending time with the two "rugrats" as he so lovingly called them. Suddenly the game was paused and Daisuke jumped in his lap._

"_Tai, I'm hungry!" he whined, snuggling up into his chest, looking up at him with big brown eyes. _

"_Yeah, me too, Tai!" Hikari added, jumping into the other half of Tai's lap. Tai burst into laughter and hugged both of his siblings closer._

"_All right, I get it. Let's see what I can do," Tai replied, pushing them off of him. _

"_How long do we have to wait?" Hikari asked him, sitting back down on the floor._

"_I'll just throw a pizza into the oven. Sound fair?" Tai compromised._

"_Yum…pizza," Daisuke said dreamily, licking his lips. Tai stood up and placed Daisuke on the floor next to Hikari._

"_Okay then. You guys keep playing your game. I'll bring it down here when it's ready," Tai called out as he strolled into the kitchen. The game was unpaused and the two younger ones went back to fighting each other on the screen. Tai smiled softly and shoved the pizza into the oven. He set the timer and sat by the counter, looking at random things. After Daisuke had stopped him from suicide, he started paying more attention to the world around him. _

"_What do you know?" a small voice asked. Tai froze in his spot, looking around. The only sounds he heard were coming from the TV in the den. _

"_Honestly, you can't believe that you're totally relieved of the stress, do you?" the voice came again, this time sounding closer, mocking him with each word. Tai had to admit, it was right. He was still stressed out. The only things keeping him from going back over the edge were Hikari and Daisuke. _

"_See the knife? Take it. Use it. Heal the wounds of your soul," the voice instructed him. _

'_Oh, what kind of crap do you know? Heal the wounds of my soul?' Tai snorted._

"_Do it!" Without realizing it, Tai picked up the knife and held it in his hands. Slowly and carefully, he brought it down on his arm, dragging it along his wrist. Watching the blood flow, he felt relieved, light, and complete. Until reality brought him back. He jumped in surprise at the heavy blood flow and the many cuts on his arm. He cried out, afraid to do anything._

"_Kari!" he choked out, sinking to the ground. Kari heard her brother's call for her and bolted for the kitchen, Daisuke on her heels. She skidded onto the tile floor and spotted Tai._

"_What happened?" she asked, bending down to look at Tai's arm._

"_Not too sure," Tai replied, feeling slightly light-headed. Kari raised an eyebrow and shook her head, looking over to Daisuke._

"_Dai, go into Mom and Dad's bathroom and grab some disinfectant and a _**ton**_ of bandages," she said sternly. The little boy nodded and darted out of the room._

"_What do you mean you're not sure, Tai?"_

"_It just happened," Tai said nonchalantly, slowly loosing conscious._

"_Oh no. Come on, Tai, stay with me."_

"_It's too hard, Kar…it's just too hard…"Tai droned off, finally passing out, just as the front door swung open._

* * *

"Did you ever tell Kari and Daisuke about hearing things?" Matt asked, his eyes trained on the bathroom door. 

"Are you kidding me? Of course not," Tai's voice came from the bathroom.

"Well, then what?"

"The only one who knows is the shrink that my parents made me go see, and my mother of course," Tai replied and the sound of the toilet flushing followed. He walked out and sat on his own bed.

"Well, why did they send you to a shrink?"

"Because of the second thing that happened."

"What else happened?"

"Well, it's kind of strange."

_

* * *

A 13-year-old Tai was sitting outside on the porch of his house, just watching the summer breeze brush across the dandelions, causing the white fluff to fly. He could here the sound of kids playing down the street. He sighed and laid on his back, crossing one leg over the other._

"_I'm so bored," he breathed out, closing his eyes. Suddenly a baseball landed next to him._

"_Hey Tai!" a voice called out to him. Tai opened his eyes and saw a short boy with spiky red hair._

"_Kou, what's up?" Tai asked and pulled himself into a sitting position._

"_We're all down playing baseball. Wanna come?" Koushiro asked, picking up the baseball at hand._

"_Yeah, sure!" Tai said. He jumped up, yelled to his mother where he was going and ran off with Izzy. The boys reached the park and started playing again. Things were going fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Tai was up to bat when the voice came back._

"_Well now, look it here……a nice little game."_

'_Shut up.' Tai told the voice, ignoring it to concentrate on the game at hand._

"_Good luck. You suck at this game. In fact, you suck at everything. You can't do anything right," the voice persisted._

"_I said shut up!" Tai yelled out loud. The rest of the kids looked at him._

"_Uh, you okay Tai?" Koushio asked, raising his eyebrow._

"_Huh?" Tai looked around wildly, blinking in confusion. He slowly gave them an embarrassed grin._

"_Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just pitch," Tai ordered, getting back into batting stance. The pitcher shook his head and threw the ball. Tai bit his lip and swung, making contact with the ball. He dropped the bat and ran, heading past first and rounding to second. But before he could touch the base, Koushiro tagged him._

"_Sorry Tai, you're out!" Koushiro grinned at him. Tai turned to him and nodded. He started to walk away when something snapped in his brain. _

"_No way. Not gonna let that happen. Attack him," The voice spoke again. Tai lunged onto Koushiro and started throwing wild punches. A couple of boys ran over and pulled him off of the redhead._

"_Tai, what's wrong with you?" somebody asked._

"_Yeah man, this isn't like you," another voice was heard._

"_I…I…" Tai didn't reply as he ran for his life. He raced back to his house and ran through the front door, slamming it behind him. He broke down into tears as he collapsed on the floor behind the door. Ami Yagami walked by and saw her son on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably._

"_Tai? What's wrong?" she asked him. _

"_Ball park. Voices in my head. Attacked Koush," Tai choked out, coming to find that he couldn't speak clearly. _

"_Voices in your head?" Ami repeated. Tai nodded and wiped away a few tears._

"_What kind of voices, Tai?" she asked him sternly, getting his attention quickly._

"_They can control me and I don't know why," Tai sniffed._

"_Tai, this isn't normal." _

"_So I've noticed. This isn't the first time." _

"_What?"_

"_This isn't the first time. It's happened before. The first time was when I cut all over my arm. The voice told me to," Tai filled her in. Ami didn't reply as she continued to hug her son, comforting him the best she could. _

"_Tai, sweetie, I think it's time we went to go see some help," she said. Tai didn't say anything as he started crying again. He was scared of what was going to happen, and there was nothing he could do._

_Tai, Ami and Michael were on their way to the psychologist's office one week after the baseball incident. _

"_Why do I have to see a shrink Mom?" Tai complained from the backseat._

"_Don't call the doctor a shrink Tai. Dr. Coleman is a very respectable doctor and can help you," Ami replied. Tai sighed and slid back into his seat. They pulled into a parking lot and got out of the car. The trio rode the elevator to the 5th floor and sat in the waiting room of Dr. Coleman's office._

"_Taichi Yagami?" Tai stood up and followed the receptionist into the office. He sat down in a chair and faced a desk._

"_Dr. Coleman will be with you right away." The receptionist smiled._

"_Thanks," Tai replied. He looked around the office. Seemed all right, with a few house plants here and there, rather organized place. Suddenly the door opened again and another woman walked in._

"_Hello, I'm Dr. Coleman. You must be Tai," she said warmly._

"_Yeah, that's me." Tai smiled weakly. _

"_Don't be so nervous, I won't bite." Dr. Coleman smiled back and sat at her desk. She opened a file and took out a pen._

"_So, explain to me why you think you're here…." she started off, looking back at him expectantly.._

"_Well, it's because I can't keep my mouth shut mostly," Tai stated bluntly. Dr. Coleman chuckled._

"_Your mother said you complained about hearing voices?" _

"_Right. It's so weird. I mean everything will be normal one minute and then the next, these different voices will pop into my head and take over. Causing me to do crazy stuff like cut my arm up with a knife, destroy my final paper for one of my classes last year, and recently attack one of my close friends while playing a baseball game. I don't understand it," Tai sighed. Dr. Coleman nodded and wrote some stuff down._

"_All right Tai. I'm going to send you back out into the waiting room and talk to your parents for a bit. Then we'll have you come back in," Dr. Coleman said. Tai nodded and rose from his seat, walking back out to where his Mom and Michael were. The pair rose and walked into the office. Tai sat there for quite some time, reading some boring magazines to pass the time._

"_Tai, you may come back in now," his mother called to him, about half an hour later. Tai got up and walked back into the room._

"_Well Tai, we're going to have you do some tests today just to see what's wrong," Dr. Coleman explained._

"_What kind of tests?" _

"_Psychological stuff. Nothing to be afraid of." _

_Tai nodded slowly and followed Dr. Coleman out of the room. The testing took a long time too, and most of them didn't make a lot of sense to the young boy. Tai didn't quite comprehend what was happening until they were back in the room with Michael and his mother. _

"_Well, what is it?" Tai asked impatiently as he sat back down._

"_Tai, be polite," Ami scolded her son. Tai pouted but obeyed._

"_It's quite all right. I'd be impatient too if I was thought to be crazy." Dr. Coleman smiled She looked back at Tai and dropped the bomb. "Well, it seems like you have a mild form of schizophrenia that is forming at a quick rate," she told him._

"_I what?" Tai yelped, standing up again._

"_You have schizophrenia. Now this can be treated with a few simple medications." Tai didn't hear the rest of the conversation. _

'_I'm a schizo. I'm a defect child. I'm no longer who I thought I was.' He hung his head low and closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, this would all be a bad dream._

* * *

"What a weird way to find out that you were schizo," Matt commented. Tai snorted and rolled his eyes. 

"Tell me about it."

"So after that, they sent you here?"

"Not exactly."

"Well then what?"

"Well, about the time of October, things got a little rough."

_

* * *

It was mid-October that same year Tai found out about his…problem. He was in his last year of junior high and everything seemed all right: until that day. Tai was sitting on the wall outside of his school, waiting for his mother to pick him up. He had a split lip and a swollen eye that hurt like hell._

"_I hate school. I hate people. I hate everything about this place!" Tai growled to himself. That day, word got out that Tai was mental. Everybody in the entire school knew by lunchtime, and they made sure that he knew it._

"_Hey Tai, be careful. You better listen to what those voices say." _

"_Does that mean they're gonna put you in the Sped classes, Yagami?"_

"_Dude, you shouldn't play soccer. Those damn voices might tell you to score for the other team."_

_All day, comments like that were made. And finally, Tai couldn't stand it. Especially from one boy named Keshi._

"_I always knew you were a bit messed up, Yagami." He came up to Tai after school. Tai was busy putting away some stuff in his locker and continued to ignore the other boy. "I mean, I heard you tried killing yourself twice." Tai shut his locker and faced Keshi with cold, hard brown eyes._

"_Who told you that?" Tai said in a low voice._

"_Does that really matter? Question is, is it true?" Tai broke his gaze and started fiddling with his bag. Keshi took this as a sign._

"_That's a yes then. I knew it. Only a screwed-over nutcase like you would do that. After all, not your fault your mother was a dime-store slut." Keshi hit the final target. Tai looked up and dropped his bag._

"_What did you call my mother?"_

"_Well, it's true. That's where your little brother came from, after all. I looked in your file. You have one screwed up life, Yagami. Too bad," Keshi smirked. Tai cried out in rage and jumped him, pinning him to the ground. He got in a few good punches before Keshi turned over, putting Tai on the bottom. The two boys continued wrestling around when the principal walked by. He pulled apart and sent them both to his office. _

_After about a 20 minutes lecture, they were sent to detention, which is why Tai was still there. The sound of a car pulling up brought him out of his reverie. He stood up and walked to the car, getting into the front seat and closing the door. His mother didn't say anything as she pulled away from the school. Tai couldn't stand the silence. Luckily, Ami broke it._

"_Fighting. You got in a fight, Tai? How could you get into a fight? What have I always told you about fighting?" she yelled at him, causing Tai to shrink back further into his seat._

"_I'm sorry," he whispered almost inaudibly._

"_We'll discuss this at home," she finished the conversation for the time being. Tai sighed and turned his gaze to the window, dreading his arrival at the house. Unfortunately, it came too quickly. It wasn't long before his mother marched him into the house and up to his room. Daisuke was sitting in there playing on the laptop._

"_Out Daisuke!" Ami barked at her younger son. 10-year-old Daisuke looked up and did a double-take at his mother's face._

"_All right, I'm going, jeeze," he said, dashing out of the room that he and Tai shared now. _

'_Thanks a lot, Dai.' Tai thought glumly and sat on his bed, waiting for his mother to speak._

"_Now tell me. Why on earth would you start a fight?" Ami questioned him._

"_He provoked me," Tai simply replied._

"_How so?" _

"_He said I had a screwed-up life, he mentioned some stuff he found in my file and called you a dime-store slut." _

_Ami paused for a moment before choosing her words carefully. "You should have ignored him, but nailed him for the slut part. I'll give you credit for that."_

"_Yay," Tai mumbled. Ami sat on the bed next to Tai and looked him in the eyes._

"_What else happened today?"_

"_Nothing, why?" Tai lied, hoping she would buy that excuse. His attempt failed._

"_Something happened to seriously upset you. Now tell me. What happened?" Ami pressed on. Tai sighed and swallowed._

"_Everybody found out that I'm a schizo," he said softly. Ami's face changed from angry to concern._

"_How did that go?"_

"_Everybody made such a big deal about it. 'Tai, listen to those voices.' 'Tai, are you in the Sped classes now?' People don't get it and they wouldn't just shut up about it and it's been going on all day and I can't stand it!" Tai said in one breath before collapsing face first into his pillow._

"_Oh Tai," Ami said gently, rubbing her son's back to sooth him from his stress._

"_I don't want to go back. Don't make me go back," Tai pleaded, voice muffled by the pillow. _

"_We'll see what we can do, okay?" Ami replied. Tai nodded and said nothing more. Ami rose from the bed and left the room quietly to talk to Michael about the whole situation. Tai laid on his bed for the longest time, drifting in and out of sleep. Daisuke was too scared to go back into the room yet so he was left alone until about dinner time. A knock on his door got his attention._

"_Come in," he called out. Ami opened the door and Michael followed her._

"_Tai, we've decided on something," Ami said, sitting next to him again. Michael pulled out the desk chair and sat in front of them._

"_About?"_

"_What to do with you," Michael filled in. _

"_We've decided to take you out of the public school," Ami took over. Tai say up quickly._

"_Are you serious?" he asked, blinking his eyes rapidly._

"_Quite serious."_

"_So, what are you going to do with me?"_

"_We called another school and they have decided to accept you," Ami replied._

"_What kind of school…" Tai asked warily. Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out a brochure, handing it to Tai. Tai looked at the front and read it._

"_Odaiba Academy?" _

"_Yes. It's a private boarding school only about an hour and a half away from here."_

"_You're sending me away?" Tai asked fearfully._

"_Sweetie, it's for your own good. There are kids like you who also have problems to deal with. This school can help you," Ami said. Tai read through the brochure and sighed in defeat._

"_When do I leave?"_

"_This weekend," Michael replied._

"_Gre-eat," Tai drawled out. Ami kissed his forehead and stood up._

"_It'll be all right, Tai. Just wait," she said, leaving the room. Michael just looked at him with fake sympathy and left. _

"_Well, I suppose this is better then public school where the world can take free shots," he said to himself and went back to sleep._

_After a long drive to the middle of nowhere practically, Michael, Ami, Tai, Kari, and Daisuke pulled into a large town that Saturday. They drove down the street until they turned to a road, leading to a huge castle-like building._

"_Whoa…" was all Tai could say. The car stopped and the family got out. They walked into the school and went into the office._

"_Hello. You must be the Yagamis," the lady behind the desk said._

"_That's right. I'm Ami. This is my husband Michael and my two other kids Kari and Daisuke. And this" she pointed to Tai, "is Tai." _

"_Hello Tai." _

"…_hi."_

"_Well, he's all ready to move in. Just bring his luggage in and we'll show him to his room." She turned to Tai and handed him a piece of paper. "Those are your timetables. Breakfast is at 7:30, class starts at 8:30. Lunch is at noon and dinner at 6. Weekends are free and holidays you're allowed to visit family," she rattled on. Tai simply tuned her out. He followed his parents around and then they stopped in a room he assumed to be his._

"_Well Tai, this is goodbye," Michael said. Tai nodded and said nothing. Ami smiled softly and wrapped her arms around Tai._

"_You'll be all right, Tai. Just remember, call me if you need anything and you have the laptop to email us and we'll see you at Thanksgiving and-"_

"_Mom, I'll be fine. Calm down." Tai's face held a look of embarrassment for the way she kept prattling on. Ami stopped and moved away, still flustered a bit. Just as soon as she was off of him, both of his siblings attacked him._

"_Tai, I'll miss you!" Hikari wailed and clung to his waist. Daisuke's eyes filled with tears and he wrapped himself around his middle and neck._

"_Tai, I don't wanna sleep by myself! I'll be all alone at home and I don't want you to go!" he cried, burying his face into Tai's chest. Tai lifted the still small for his age boy up and held him._

"_Hey, c'mon guys it'll be fine. I'll come back to visit at Thanksgiving and Kari will still be with you," he comforted both kids at the same time. Daisuke sniffled and Kari let go of him. Tai handed Daisuke to his mother and stood back._

"_See you soon everybody." He smiled for them._

"_Bye honey. Be good. We'll miss you!" Ami said. The others chorused goodbyes and walked away. Tai flopped down on his bed and looked at the ceiling. _

"_Well, this will turn out interesting," he sighed to himself and started to unpack._

* * *

"Wow, long story," Matt said. 

"Oh yeah, you know it. But then again, you asked." Tai shrugged.

"That I did. But you know, it's not a bad thing."

"What makes you say that?"

"Now I understand you a bit better. And it makes me happy. I'm glad I know everything."

"Not quite everything," Tai whispered quietly, but Matt still caught it.

"Oh? And what didn't you tell me about?" Matt raised his eyebrow sneakily.

"Let's save that for another time, shall we?" Tai said, rising from his bed. "Besides, it's time for dinner," he continued as he bounced through the door. Matt slowly got up and followed him.

"There's so much more to you then I thought," Matt said to himself, before closing the door and heading downstairs for dinner.

* * *

Again, another edited, yet finished, chapter. 

Thanks to: **neo**, LilGoldFishie, **LadyKNa-No-Da**, Redrum, **Phunky Phish**, Meg-chan2, **sakurablossoms4**, TsukinoLomelinde, **Luna Wolf**, Violette Mai, **CSMars**, Sillie, **Splash-Yaoiluv**, Squrlie Jack, **shadow-seraph**, Quazimodo, **BessArtist**, fiendmage, **Devina**, just someone, **Raku Ozzarian Princess**, Beta 4 Hire, **Kenren19**, Aero-Grrl, **LaffyTaffy**, creepyzuzet, **Wolf-Knight-Angel**, Winnie and Genauso, **Sovereign of Silence3**, Du S'undavar Freohr n' Zar'roc, and **Zeto**. Your reviews make me happy.


	4. Escapade

_**Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse.**_

_**-Unknown**_

* * *

A week had gone by since Tai's confessions and things were changing once again between the two boys. But this time, it wasn't only them who noticed it. It was a Friday evening and they were downstairs having dinner. Daisuke sat in between Matt and Tai, eyes darting between the two older boys, both of whom weren't eating but instead, playing with their food. Daisuke swallowed and tried to strike up a conversation. 

"So, um, what do you guys want to do this weekend?" he started out, feeling the tension between the two of them. Matt shoved his potatoes around his plate and didn't say anything. He merely shrugged and shook his head. Tai also shrugged. He abruptly put his fork down and got up, running out of the dining area and upstairs. Daisuke's eyes followed his brother's figure before he disappeared out of sight. He turned to Matt, who was pretending not to notice.

"What's going on between you two?" Daisuke demanded. Matt sighed and shrugged once again.

"I don't have any idea. He's been acting so damn weird lately. He won't even look at me anymore," Matt told him. Daisuke nodded and rose from his spot as well.

"Where are-" Matt started to say.

"Don't ask questions, just don't go to your room," Daisuke cut him off and headed upstairs as well. Matt shook his head and muttered a "whatever." He got up from the table and walked away.

"No use sitting here if my friends ditched me," he said to himself as he headed for the library.

Upstairs in the bedroom, Tai was sitting on his bed, glaring daggers at the door. He was **not** in the mood to deal with anybody right now. Therefore, no one should mess with him. However, someone had a different idea. There was a short knock on the door, followed by another.

"Go away!" Tai yelled.

"Tai, it's me. Open up," Daisuke replied on the outside.

"No, go away," Tai repeated. Daisuke sighed and opened the door.

"Now see, if you had really wanted to be left alone, you would have locked the door," he pointed out with a smirk, remaining standing inside the doorway.

"Dais, seriously, shut up and get out," Tai growled.

"Come on now, is that any way to talk to your brother that you love so much?" Daisuke grinned cheerfully. Tai let out a cry of rage and chucked the bedside lamp at Daisuke. Daisuke quickly closed the door, causing the lamp to crash into it rather then his face. He opened the door a crack, making sure that Tai wasn't about to throw anything else. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side, as Tai had his history book in his hand, ready to launch. Daisuke quickly closed the door again, causing the book to hit the door with a resounding thud. He didn't dare open the door again, not while Tai was still throwing things.

He slid down the hallway wall, sitting outside of Tai and Matt's room. He sat there, eyes closed, waiting for Tai to calm down enough to talk in a civilized matter. As of right now, the brunet inside was on war rampage, throwing around anything he could possibly find. How he knew this?

"Stupid son of a bitch! Damn it all! Shit facking damn it!"

Well, besides the strings of curses that were loud enough for the entire school to hear, he could hear every single thump each object made as it was tossed around ruthlessly. He was used to this ritual however. He would always sit outside in the hall, letting Tai vent out his frustration and anger by throwing things and completely trashing his room. Then Tai would calm down, allow Daisuke to come back inside the room, tell him what was wrong, and then they'd clean up his room.

"He should stop throwing things in five, four, three, two, one," Daisuke counted to himself. Right on that count, all noise ceased existence and it was silent. A small smile crept onto Daisuke's face and he rose to his feet, cautiously opening the door. There had been one time where he had opened the door too soon, resulting in a nasty connection with a calculator and his nose. So now he had to be extremely careful. He peered inside the room, finding nothing but darkness. He saw a silhouette sitting in the middle of the room remaining motionless. Daisuke sighed and hit the light switch. The room was instantly flooded with light, revealing a much wrecked room, along with a very distraught young boy, blinking up at the figure in the door way.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" Daisuke sighed quietly, staring intently at the once again fallen boy.

"Hey it helps, doesn't it?" Tai shrugged in response, raising his gaze to meet that of Daisuke's.

"I suppose," the younger brother replied, stepping over some broken glass.

"But you could vent in a less…violent manner?" he added as an after note.

"Maybe. I just think this works better. It's faster, you know?" Tai reasoned with him. Daisuke shook his head and grabbed Tai's hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Not really. Because now, we get to have the 'joy' of cleaning up," Daisuke said with an edge of sarcasm in his voice as he leaned down to grab some of Tai's textbooks.

"Oh c'mon Dais, I'm sorry. Things just sort of got out of control," Tai apologized, trailing off a bit as he set the lamp back on the bedside table.

"Maybe we should have Mom look into getting you some anger management classes when we go home to visit," Daisuke dryly suggested, ducking to prevent being hit in the head.

"Oh c'mon, it's not **that** bad. Now hurry up and help me clean this place up before Matt-" Tai was soon cut off by the door being opened.

"Speak of the devil," Daisuke muttered under his breath.

"Before I what, Tai?" Matt asked, leaning up against the doorframe, glancing at Tai briefly before he looked around the room. He raised a fine blond eyebrow and looked back at the two brothers.

"Should I even ask?" he inquired, still glancing around the room. Tai bit his lower lip and Daisuke gave him a lopsided grin.

"I think I'll leave you two alone now. Good night," he said with a wave, just before he dashed out of the room. Tai looked after his little brother and shook his head.

'_Gee, thanks Dai.'_ He turned to look at Matt who still hadn't moved from the doorframe. Mud brown met cobalt blue, each clashing with the other. It was Matt who chose to speak first.

"So, what happened in here? Did dinosaurs come back to rule the Earth?" he smirked and stepped in a bit further.

"No not quite." Tai gave him a small smile in return. He turned his back to Matt and continued to clean up the room. Matt walked to his side and knelt down, gently picking up the broken glass.

"Kristallnacht…" he breathed out slowly, yet clearly.

"Say wha?" Tai's eyebrows quirked up.

"It's German for Night of Broken Glass," Matt translated.

"Well, that seems like tonight, now doesn't it?" Tai stated more then questioned. Matt nodded and threw the glass into the trashcan.

"I didn't know you spoke German," Tai remarked, breaking the awkward silence between them.

"I don't. I just know that one phrase from my History class back home," Matt responded.

"Oh." The silence fell upon them again as they straightened out the room. Matt tipped the desk upright while Tai was replacing stuff into the cabinets of the bathroom. Finally, both boys had finished the job and they collapsed on their own respective beds.

"So now, care to tell me why you turned the entire room upside down?" Matt asked, looking back over to his comrade.

"Well, I…hmm. It's just my way of venting out anger." Tai shrugged.

"Might I suggest you find a new way to vent?"

"Maybe, but what do you suggest?" Tai asked sharply.

"I don't know. You're the one who got mad for no reason!" Matt yelled, losing his temper at a rapid pace.

"No reason huh? I **have** a reason. I have all reason to be mad, damnit!" Tai shouted back.

"Like what!"

"That's none of your business!"

"I have every right to know if you're going to be all butthurt like this!"

"Butthurt? Let me guess, another phrase from America," Tai spat out.

"Damn straight!"

"What the hell are you talking about? You don't have **any** idea what I'm going through and you're yelling at me for being 'butthurt' as you put it!"

"Well, you are! If you would just let people help you, you wouldn't have any problems!"

"**That's it!"** Tai launched off of his bed and onto Matt's, ready to give him a full-blown punch to the nose. However Matt pressed one finger onto Tai's forehead, holding him in place. Tai gave a few wild punches, but none of them got anywhere near his target. The Japanese boy stopped swinging his fists and gave in, allowing his whole body to go limp and fall onto Matt's chest.

"Now see, that's a way to vent your anger without destroying the room." Matt smirked at the brunet whose head shot up in an instant.

"You jerk! You were provoking me all along to prove your point, weren't you?" Tai accused him, poking him in the chest.

"You bet," came the smug response

"Ass," Tai muttered, looking away from Matt.

"Oh come on, now you're going to pout again?"

"Maybe," Tai retorted instantly. Matt groaned and leaned against the wall, allowing more room for Tai.

"Well, now that that's settled, want to tell me what's up with you lately? You've been so pissy for the past week," Matt stated bluntly.

"Yeah I know."

"I didn't ask if you were aware of it. I asked why."

"I just…react differently then most people do."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Well, remember when I told you everything last week? About my life, why I'm here, everything."

"Yes," Matt replied, urging him to go on.

"I got scared."

"Of what?"

Tai sighed and shrugged again, looking away from Matt. "I was afraid that once you knew, you would go away. I'm not used to letting people know personal things other then my family," he admitted, biting at his lip again.

"So you're like me."

"Yeah I'm like-what?" Tai stopped mid-sentence. Matt chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

"You and I are more alike then you think. I also tend to have that problem. I don't like getting super close to people in fear that they'll leave me. So I avoid telling them anything. It just seems…safer that way. Back home I didn't have all that many friends, just a few here and there."

"So then, why did you let me get closer?" Tai asked him.

"I'm not even sure anymore. There's something about you that I trust, Taichi. I just can't figure it out yet," Matt trailed off.

"Same with me, dude. Same with me," Tai replied. He crawled off of Matt's bed and into his own.

"Good night, Yamato," he bid to the other boy.

"Good night Taichi," Matt yawned lightly in reply, reaching out to shut off the lamp. He groped around for a few minutes before he opened his eyes to look.

"Hey Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"You broke off the lamp switch."

"Oops…"

* * *

The next morning was a Saturday. One of the only days the boys were allowed to sleep in late. However, Tai woke up at 8am that morning. He had tried going back to sleep, but he was wide awake now. He sighed in annoyance and got up, walking into the bathroom to shower. He didn't think to lock the door behind him either. After all, Matt was still sleeping. Or so he thought. 

Matt rolled over in his bed and opened his eyes. It was 8:15am. On a Saturday. He woke up **early** on a **Saturday!** Matt groaned in defeat and sat up, rubbing some sleep out of his eyes. His brain wasn't quite awake yet and neither was he as he got out of bed. He placed his feet on the floor and shuffled towards the bathroom, failing to here the shower water running. He opened the door and walked in part way. Suddenly, a yell brought him out of his sleepy state.

"Whoa! Matt, get out of here!" Tai yelled, wrapping part of the shower curtain around him. Matt's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"**Shit!"** He turned around and sped out, slamming the door behind him. Matt blinked and shook his head, trying to get rid of the memory that just happened.

"Okay, calm down Matt. It was just for a split-second. Nothing to flip out about," he told himself. Although it had been only a split-second, it had been long enough for Matt to get a good glimpse of Tai's body.

Not that he had wanted one to begin with. But then, why wouldn't the image leave his mind's eye?

"Damn I must still be tired," he convinced himself. Suddenly the bathroom door opened again and Tai stepped out. He had changed into a black T-shirt that had the words, _"My Imaginary Friends Think You Have Serious Issues."_ printed on the front in white letters. He had also slipped on a pair of dark grey cargo pants and black Sketchers. His hair was still slightly wet and dripping on the floor.

"Tai, I am **so** sorry!" Matt apologized immediately. Tai glared at him for a few moments before shaking his head.

"It was bound to happen eventually. But come on! Couldn't you hear the water running?" Tai pointed out.

"Dude, I was half asleep, what do you expect?" Matt defended himself.

"I expected that you were awake enough to hear it!" Tai yelled, causing some of his hair to bounce. Now that it was wet, his hair didn't stick up like it usually did. In fact, it did just the opposite. It hung down low, stopping just at the base of his neck. It held a floppy position, framing his face just perfectly. Matt was suddenly fascinated by the way Tai's hair slowly began to rise on its own as it dried out.

"Hello! Earth to Matt! Did you just hear anything I just said?" Tai snapped him out of his reverie.

"Oh, sorry. What'd you say?" Matt confirmed Tai's suspicions.

"I said I expected that you were awake enough to hear it!" Matt's face clouded over and he growled a bit.

"Well, I didn't. Get over it," the blond said sharply and got up, walking over to make himself some coffee.

"Jeeze, sorry. Didn't mean to shove a stick up your ass," Tai retorted before he returned to the bathroom again to finish drying his hair. Matt stuck his tongue out and went back to making his coffee. Even though he didn't really like the taste of plain coffee, he still drank it. It just made him feel more sophisticated and mature. Not to mention it woke him up. After he got dressed, he poured the black drink into his coffee cup and sat down on the couch, turning on the TV that was there. He grabbed the remote and turned on…cartoons.

Well, so much for being sophisticated and mature.

The bathroom door opened again and Tai came out with dry hair that was sticking straight up into the atmosphere once more.

"What are you watching?" Tai asked, sitting down next to him.

"Lilo and Stitch, the series," Matt replied, taking a sip of his drink. Tai rolled his eyes and looked at the cup in Matt's hands. He snorted with laughter and shook his head.

"Nice cup, Matt," he remarked. Matt looked down at it and smiled also. The cup was bright yellow with a smiley face on it. In bold black letters it said, "How About A Nice Hot Cup Of SHUT THE !&# UP!"

"You think so?" he said in a joking manner.

"Oh yeah, super classy," Tai snickered.

"One of my friends got it for me as a joke. It fits my personality." He looked at Tai's shirt and shook his head. "Kind of like your shirt fits yours," he added.

"Daisuke bought it as a gag gift for my 15th birthday last year," Tai explained. Matt said nothing and continued watching the little blue alien on the screen. "Can't we watch something else?" Tai whined, getting restless with the little Hawaiian girl and her blue dog creature.

"No."

"C'mon! Please?" Tai begged him.

"No." Tai pouted and sulked on his side of the couch. Suddenly, he grabbed the remote and changed the channel.

"Oh, **hell no!** We are **not** watching Yu-Gi-Oh!" Matt yelled once he realized what Tai did.

"Come on! It's better then Lilo and Stitch!"

"No way!" Matt shook his head, grabbing the remote back and changing the channel again.

"Yes!" Tai replied, changing it back to Yu-Gi-Oh.

"Nu-uh!" Matt protested.

"Yu-uh!" Tai shot back.

Thus began the banter of the idiots.

The door opened and Daisuke walked in, and just stared at the two boys on the couch fighting over cartoons. "Um, hey guys." Daisuke greeted the older boys, seeing as how they hadn't noticed him yet.

"Hi Dais," both boys said simultaneously without skipping a beat. "Nuh-uh!" "Yu-huh!" "Nuh-uh!" "Yu-huh!" "Nuh-uh!" "Yu-huh!"

"Guys! **Shut it!"** Daisuke finally broke in. Both boys stopped arguing and let go of the remote control. "That's better," he sighed in relief.

"Sorry," the older boys apologized.

"Let's go. We have the whole day today to go hang around town," Daisuke informed them and headed for the door. Matt and Tai followed behind him, each grabbing their wallet off of their dressers first. The trio headed downstairs and stopped into the dining hall to grab a quick breakfast. Several pieces of toast and two glasses of orange juice each later, they headed out again. They were just about to walk out of the door when a voice stopped all three of them.

"**Tai!"** a female voice rang out, just before a blurry figure launched itself onto Tai's neck.

"Oh god," Daisuke muttered under his breath. Matt tilted his head to the side a bit, staring curiously at this girl. She had shoulder length red hair and amber eyes. She appeared to be about Tai's and his own age. But, why was she here?

"Hey Sora," Tai said in a calm tone, pulling her arms off of his neck slightly.

"Oh my gosh, how are you? I haven't seen you forever!" Sora squealed.

"Good. Yourself?" Tai asked. Matt could tell that he was trying hard to be polite. Almost too hard maybe.

"Fabulous! You won't believe it. We made it to the championships for tennis last season and I won the final match, so I got to keep the trophy and then of course I did super well in my academics and got top marks and then I got some scholarships for college already so Mom and Dad are thrilled and-" Matt tuned her out after that. She talked **way** too much for his liking and for Daisuke's as well it seemed since he was pretending to be sick. Matt stifled back a laugh. The girl looked up at the sound and finally spotted him.

"And who's this?" she asked, eyes sparkling suddenly.

"This is Matt. He just transferred here about four weeks ago. Matt, this is Takenouchi Sora," Tai introduced them to each other, sending Sora an unreadable look. She seemed to understand it though and merely nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you, Matt," Sora smiled briefly before turning away.

"Yeah, same," Matt said warily.

"Daisuke! I didn't even see you standing there." She turned to the youngest boy, smiling all the while.

"How could you have when you were busy fawning over my brother?" Daisuke replied coolly. Sora's expression faltered a bit, but then she regained control.

"You are just so cute," she muttered and then latched back onto Tai's arm.

"We **so** have to go do something today!" she gushed suddenly, proceeding to pull Tai out the door.

"Um, Sora? Why are you even here?" he asked instead, allowing himself to be dragged along.

"I'm on a break. Somebody set the science lab on fire so the school's closed for a while, so I came to visit Daddy, since he's the headmaster and all. Oh and of course to see you!"

"So how long will you be here?" Daisuke cut in.

"Only for a few days. Isn't that great?" She smiled her perky smile again.

"Not really," Daisuke whispered under his breath. Sora glared at Daisuke, who shrunk back a bit.

"Yeah, that's nice," Tai said, avoiding a conflict with the girl and his brother.

"So, where should we go Tai-Tai?" she inquired as they all walked out of the building.

"Actually, Matt, Dais and I had planned on just going around downtown," Tai replied.

"Can I come?" she asked.

"Well, it was kind of a guys' day out thing," Tai told her, trying to make some sort of excuse.

"When **isn't** it a guys' day out thing? It's an all-boys school," she pointed out.

"Well still, it's something besides classes," Matt jumped in.

"Who asked you?" she shot out and turned back to Tai.

"Please can't I come with you, Taichi?" she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at him. Tai resisted the urge to tell her to back off and nodded slowly.

"All right, I suppose you can-"

"**Yes!** Thanks, Tai!" she cut him off in mid-sentence. She proceeded to grab Tai's hand and dragged him down the street with Matt and Daisuke following at a much slower pace.

"Who is she?" Matt asked, nodding in the direction of Sora.

"She's a friend of Tai's. She went to the same junior high as he did. Her father's the headmaster of this school so she always comes here at least once a year to 'visit' Tai. She's got the biggest crush on him," Daisuke explained, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Really?"

"Well, I don't know…but she certainly acts like she does, now doesn't she?" Daisuke said, taking note of the fact that Sora still hadn't let go of Tai's hand and was whispering into his ear.

"How does he feel about her?" Matt chose to ignore what he was seeing.

"He said she was nice when they were kids, but now she's just trippy. I don't think he sees her as more then a friend though. I think she's annoying though," Daisuke added his own thoughts. Up ahead of them, Sora had dragged Tai into some department store. Matt and Daisuke stopped just outside of it, waiting for the two of them to come out.

"So why doesn't he tell her to go find somebody else?"

"Tai's too nice to do that. He doesn't like hurting people if he can help it," Daisuke stated.

"But she's really weird."

"She might be nice if she wasn't so attached to Tai like she is, but I have no clue. Kari seems to like her."

"Eh?"

"Sora lives down the street from us back home. That's why she and Tai are friends. Well, now it's kind of a one-sided friendship I guess, I'm not too sure."

"Well still. She's trying too hard."

"I doubt she realizes that," Daisuke finished that discussion just as Sora came out of the store with Tai following her, buried under three large shopping bags.

"Get me out of here!" he hissed on his way past them. Daisuke nodded and thought about a plan.

"I've got an idea," he whispered to Matt. The two boys ran to catch up with Tai and Sora, who had stopped at a café to eat lunch. They ordered lunch and the waitress left them to talk and wait for their meals. Sora started talking to Tai about, what else, herself and leaving no room for Tai to comment, so he kept nodding his head like he was listening. Daisuke casually sipped on his soda, catching Matt's eye suddenly.

With Sora distracted and Tai zoned out, Daisuke let the glass fall from his hand and bounce on the table, splashing Sprite all over Sora's shirt and partially on Tai.

"Eww!" Sora shrieked and backed away from the table.

"Oh so sorry, Sora! It just, slipped through my fingers," Daisuke said in his best attempt to sound sincere, but he couldn't help but grin.

"Thanks a ton Daisuke. Now my shirt's all wet!" The redhead glared at the younger boy.

"Why don't you go change into one of the new shirts you just bought?" Tai suggested hastily, not very willing to watch a fight begin. Sora nodded shortly before rummaging through her bags and grabbing a blue shirt, heading inside the restaurant to change. Tai watched her closely until the door swung behind her and nodded at his partners-in-crime.

"Run!" he commanded and all three boys shot out of their chairs, running as far as they could down the street. They stopped by the water fountain in the center of town, all three of them in peals of laughter.

"That was classic, Daisuke. Pure genius," Matt said, wiping away the tears he had from laughing so hard.

"I know, huh?" Daisuke bowed slightly before cracking up again.

"My god, you can not imagine the torture I have to put up with when I'm with her," Tai groaned.

"I feel your pain, bro. I feel your pain," Daisuke said, snickering behind his hand. Tai whacked him behind the head, almost knocking him into the fountain. Daisuke regained his balance and glared at his brother.

"Going to play it that way are you?" he said. He reached over and pushed Tai, whose arm swung around and hit Matt instead, causing the blond to fall into the fountain.

"Oh my god! Matt, I'm **so** sorry! I didn't mean to make you fall in!" Tai said and stood up instantly. "Here let me help you up." He offered a hand to the American boy. Matt accepted the hand and smirked.

"No, I insist. Let me help you in!" he replied shortly before pulling the brunet face-first into the fountain. Tai resurfaced, sputtering and shaking out his hair.

"What was that for?" he asked, turning to the blond.

"No real reason." Matt grinned innocently.

"You two don't realize how ridiculous you look right now, do you?" Daisuke questioned the older boys. The wet teens looked at one another and shared identical evil looks.

"Well, actually, no," Matt said, grabbing Daisuke's ankle.

"Why not join the party, Dai?" Tai added as he grabbed his other ankle. With one last tug, the other boy was sent toppling into the water.

"Hey come on! That's not fair! **You just soaked your savior!**" Daisuke yelled, splashing water everywhere.

"Savior huh?" Matt said teasingly.

"Yeah! I saved you from the evil girly freak!" Daisuke exclaimed, laughing again when he realized how silly he sounded and splashed more water.

"Stop splashing me!" Tai shouted, spraying him back and getting Matt wet in the process.

"Quit it!" Matt yelled, splashing both boys. The trio sat in the fountain, splashing each other and ignoring all the people passing by and staring at the three young boys in disgrace or amusement. Well except for one person.

"Hey! What are you kids doing in there?" a police officer hollered at them, spotting them from his stationed area.

"Again I say, run!" Tai yelled, hopping out of the water faster than he could finish a meal. All three boys ran back to the school and into Tai and Matt's room in record time.

* * *

"Well, that was fun," Matt panted as he collapsed on Tai's bed. 

"Get your wet butt off of **my** bed," Tai commanded and lifted Matt up by the waist, dropping him carelessly onto the floor.

"Mean." The blond stuck out his tongue.

"Guys, we **so** have to do that again sometime," Daisuke said, drying his hair out.

"Definitely. Today was so fun," Matt agreed with him. Daisuke grinned and shook his hair like a dog, hitting his brother and his brother's best friend with icy water.

"Daisuke!" both boys exclaimed as they dodged out of the way.

"Oops." Daisuke grinned and headed for the exit. "Well, I'm gonna go. See you both tomorrow." He waved and walked out the door.

"Night, Dais," the older two chorused. They both got up and changed into dry clothes. Matt dropped down onto his own bed and put his arms behind his head. He sighed contently and allowed his eyes to close. Suddenly there was an extra weight added onto his chest. He cracked open one eye and looked up at the grinning face of Tai.

"Get off," he commanded halfheartedly, shoving him only about two inches away. Tai pouted like always but obeyed, lying down at the other end of the bed. The two boys sat in silence once again, but not the uncomfortable silence like the previous night. This was more of a serene silence, at least until Matt spoke.

"Do you like Sora?" he asked the brunet. Tai made a face of slightly disgust and slight amusement.

"Well I mean she's nice and all, but no I don't like her like **that**, if that's what you mean. She could only have me in her dreams," he snickered at his words.

"So, you don't like being with her?" Matt inquired, sounding on the side of…hopeful? Tai wasn't quite sure. But something was there other then pure curiosity.

"Let's just put it this way, Yama. I'd rather be with you then with her," Tai replied. Matt didn't say anything, but instead, looked at him in puzzlement. "What?" the mud-eyed boy finally asked after a long staring contest.

"You called me Yama," Matt said slowly.

"So?"

"I've…never heard that one before."

"Good. Then it can be my special nickname for you." Tai smiled. Matt shook his head and smiled back.

"Right. Good night Taichi," Matt said, rolling over onto his side to let Tai know he was going to sleep. Tai sighed happily and crawled off of Matt's bed, settling down into his own.

"Good night, Yama," he returned the wish, turning out the light next to him. The darkness settled in and Tai couldn't help but smile one more time.

'_My Yama. Sounds nice.'_ He suppressed a child-like giggle and closed his eyes, ready to dream of the blue-eyed wonder.

* * *

Again, it's been edited. Yay and stuff. I can't remember what notes I just had here…so yeah. I can't believe these chapters were so short when I wrote them. 

Thanks to: **LadyKNa-No-Da**, sakura blossoms4, **Redrum**, CreepyZuzet, **Phoenix Monologues**, Tiia, **Kayanna**, Mrs. Passionate, **nEo**, Sen-Tay, **Tsuki no Lomelinde**, BessArtist, **Heaven's Angel Chick**, Sillie, **Squrlie Jack**, CreamPuff, **Splash**, Quazimodo, **Dark-Cass**, Aero-Grrl, **Digininga**, Raku Ozzarian Princess, **TheSchizoFrenchFry**, Luna, **Sakura Fae**, and Kelset.


	5. Home

"_**Home" is any four walls that enclose the right person.**_

_**-Helen Rowland**_

* * *

Matt sat lethargically in his Advanced Algebra class, trying hard to follow along with what Mr. DeBeaumont was saying about using i in an equation. However, not only did Matt not care, he had already learned about this before in his previous school. Why bother re-learning it all? Instead, he focused on the world outside of the lesson. It was almost Christmas time and there still wasn't a sign of it snowing anytime soon. 

'_Which is a major bummer. We always had snow right about the beginning of December back home.'_ Matt thought dejectedly. A small sigh escaped his lips at the mere thought of home. Home was somewhere he was not looking forward to returning to this soon. He had only been gone for two months and now it was almost time for the holidays. After tomorrow, everyone else would be returning home to their families.

"I don't want to go…" he whispered. He reached out to the window and slowly placed his fingers upon it, tracing away the frost that had set there. His fingers swept up and down the pane of glass, creating indecipherable symbols that blended together almost naturally. While each symbol was something different and individual, it fit right in with the rest, as if it shared a common background. The common background that was smothering each and every one of them, the common background of-

"Mr. Ishida, would you care to explain to me and the rest of your classmates just what we are talking about?" Mr. DeBeaumont suddenly asked, his face hovering over the blond boy. DeBeaumont stood at about 6'1" with a mess of brown hair on top. All the same however, he wasn't very intimidating. In fact he spent more time goofing off with his students than being a teacher. But unfortunately, he still had to teach, just like today.

"Um…i?" Matt said cautiously, not daring to meet Mr. DeBeaumont's blue-green eyes.

"What about i?" Mr. DeBeaumont pressed further.

"Uh…something?" Matt shrugged. Tai glanced over to Matt and noticed how petrified he looked, even though there really was no reason for him to be petrified. It's not like he could get in trouble. They were in a boarding school for crying out loud! How would you be able to have detention in a boarding school; or be expelled, or any of that other stuff that happens at a **normal** school? Well, technically that stuff **could** happen, but with Tai being Tai, he figured that he was the only one smart enough to realize the truth. And since he was Tai, he decided to rescue his best friend from the evil wrath of the DeBeaumont Monster.

"Mr. DeBeaumont, sir, I really can't say that I blame Yamato here," Tai cut into their conversation, hopping out of his seat to look Mr. DeBeaumont in the eye.

"And why do you say that, Yagami?" Mr. DeBeaumont took his gaze off of Matt, now glancing at the exuberant brunette who stood next to him.

"Well, you see Grant, math sucks. Why would we need to learn it each and every year? We learned all of the math we would ever need to know by the end of the fourth grade. Can't we learn something more…I don't know, useful?" Tai casually perched himself on top of Matt's desk.

"Well what do you suggest? And I prefer you call me Mr. DeBeaumont," Grant DeBeaumont pointed out, leaning his back against Tai's vacant desk with crossed arms.

"What about Cryptozoology? I know that's something that interests you," Tai replied smoothly, slowly stretching out on Matt's desk. Matt's eyes widened at this new sight, trying to concentrate on what Tai's ploy was and not how much warmer it had gotten in the room suddenly.

"While you're correct Yagami, it's not something we need to be discussing here. I was hired at this school to teach you Algebra, not discuss what I would rather be doing with my life," Grant shot back, eyebrow arching up at this sudden change of conversation.

"If that's what you would really like to be doing, why are you teaching us?" Tai pressed his luck further.

"**Yagami**!" the young French-Portuguese teacher yelled, suddenly loosing his grip. The entire class burst into laughter, knowing that this was Tai's aim from the beginning. Grant blinked slightly and shook his head, realizing that he had once again fallen for the famous Yagami Ploy # 146: distract the teacher to get out of learning the lesson.

'_Seems he also used Yagami Ploy # 174: pester the teacher enough until he explodes for classroom humor.'_ He thought to himself grimly. Nevertheless, he did find it rather amusing. Tai wasn't a bad kid by any means, just a little…rambunctious. Just shortly after Grant's lash-out, the bell sounded off, signaling the end of the class.

"Class dismissed." He waved them off wearily. All of the boys piled out of the classroom, thankful that math was their last lesson of the day. Grant dragged himself over to his desk and flopped down into his relaxing chair, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"God I need a vacation," he sighed and dropped his head onto the table.

* * *

The boys had an hour in between the end of class and dinner being served. This gave them time do to other activities, such as wander around the campus, do homework, or in Matt and Tai's case, go up to their room and goof off. Currently, both boys were relaxing on their respected beds, listening to one of Matt's CDs. 

"So what did you say this band was called?" Tai asked the blond boy, eyes not leaving the screen of the laptop computer in front of him. He was lying on his stomach in a rather comfortable position, with his arms stretched out far enough to reach the keys on the computer and his ankles crossed over each other up in the air.

"Simple Plan. Not the best, but I still like them," Matt replied to his comrade. The American was resting on his back with his slender arms tucked behind his head of blond locks and his legs straight out before him, staring up at the ceiling of their room.

"Oh. They're good. I haven't really heard anything like this," Tai commented, scrolling through his list of e-mails.

"Yeah, they're one of my new favorite bands. This is the kind of music that's popular in America right now. That and the rock stuff."

"Rock stuff?" A chocolate eyebrow rose up in question as two muddy eyes blinked at him.

"Yeah, you know. Stuff like Linkin Park, 3 Days Grace, Nirvana, that kind of stuff. That's the music that will never die."

"You really like your music don't you?" The brunet turned back to the glowing screen, an amused smile crossing his features.

"Well yeah, it's something I'm actually good at."

"You play music?"

"…isn't that what I just said?"

"Well, sort of, but I mean, I wasn't sure if you meant you sang or played something or what you meant. Gosh, Matt, quit confusing me!"

The blond chuckled and shook his head, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "You are such a dork."

"Thanks. So what do you play?" Tai changed the subject back to Matt, who in turn rose up from his bed. He made his way over to the closet at the other end of the room, opening it up slowly to prevent from having all of Tai's junk fall out onto the floor. He had already had the "pleasure" of that experience once, and once was **more** then enough. He poked his head inside the hole in the wall and reached with one arm, gently probing around. A muffled "Aha!" was heard as the pale boy backed out of the closet, clutching a glimmering electric guitar in his hand. Tai once again turned his head towards Matt and nodded, not really taking in what was before him. He quickly did a double-take and sat up, eyes widening at the sight of the black beauty before him.

"Where did **that** come from?" Tai breathed out, jumping off of his bed to examine the guitar even further. The black electric music box was a light-weight piece of equipment with blue flame designs flowing over it, perfectly matching the blue of Matt's eyes. The guitar itself fit nicely in the blond's arms.

'_His slim, yet strong, muscular arms…'_ Tai thought to himself. He jerked himself out of those thoughts and tried to regain focus on what Matt was saying, not how...

'_Soft_ _his lips look when he speaks…argh! Easy, killer. Do _**not**_ give yourself away!'_ Tai scolded himself, straining even more to push certain thoughts such as those into the back corner of his mind.

"It's been in there since the first day I moved in, dude," Matt replied, twirling the guitar around in his hands. "Brought it over with me from America. I mean, there was **no** way I was going to leave my baby all alone in a different country. I rely on her too much," he said fondly, softly strumming the strings as he eased himself back onto the bed. Tai dropped himself onto his own, staring at Matt in disbelief.

"Your baby?" he asked, vaguely toying with the possibility that Matt had lost his mind.

"Yes, my baby. Can't a guy have **some** possession?"

"Yeah sure, but it's usually for a car or a girl, not a guitar!"

"Well, I haven't got a car, seeing as how my father doesn't trust me enough, not to mention the fact that I'm too young to have a license, and I haven't got a girl because I just haven't found one yet."

"Why not?" Tai questioned. Matt paused briefly, still running a few fingers over the strings of his guitar. "Matt?" The blue-eyed teen looked up, a small look of puzzlement on his porcelain-like features.

"I-I really don't know. There just hasn't been one that I've been strongly attracted to. Sure, there's a lot of girls that I think are pretty damn hot, but they're all missing something." Tai opened his mouth to speak again but Matt glared at him. "Don't you dare ask me what because I don't know that either."

This caused Tai to shut his mouth in a heartbeat. The room was suddenly filled with the silence. Each boy was lost in their own thoughts, not making any eye contact with the other. Tai continued to watch the blond boy, while said boy was concentrating entirely on his guitar, being careful to avoid the piercing look his friend gave him. They remained that way for a good eight minutes when they were spontaneously interrupted by the human blur known as Daisuke.

"Guys!" he shouted and launched himself right on top of Tai, causing the older boy to topple over onto the floor and Matt to drop his guitar in surprise.

"**Daisuke, don't do that!"** both teens yelled at the younger boy, who in turn gave them a sheepish grin.

"Sorry about that. I'm just so excited!" he explained as he began pulling Tai up onto his bed by the arm.

"Why?" Matt asked, checking his guitar for any damage.

"Because we're going home for Christmas!" Daisuke all but squealed as he started bouncing up and down on Tai's bed. Matt arched an elegant eyebrow and Tai rolled his eyes.

"Have I ever mentioned that my brother has A.D.H.D?" Tai asked dryly, poking Daisuke in the side as he continued bouncing.

"No, but he has." Matt smirked at the 12-year-old who ended up jumping from Tai's bed onto Matt's. The mahogany-haired boy sat in front of him with a smile plastered on his face that Matt couldn't help but return.

"So what are you doing for Christmas, Matt?" Daisuke asked, blinking at the other boy with his curious cinnamon-brown eyes.

"In all honesty, I don't know."

"Don't you want to go back to your family?" Daisuke pressed on further, staring intently into the boy's deep blue eyes.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Daisuke, if you met my family, you wouldn't want to go back either," the blond mumbled under his breath, looking away from the younger boy.

"That bad, huh?" Tai cut in before Daisuke could reply. Matt gave him a mere shrug and continued to avoid the brothers' gazes. Tai switched his focus onto Daisuke and locked his eyes with his own. Daisuke glanced over at Matt quickly and then back to Tai, frowning at him. Tai simply nodded and looked away from Daisuke, clapping his hands together to bring back his brother and best friend's attention.

"I just had the most **brilliant** idea ever!" he exclaimed, jumping off of his bed and joining the other two on Matt's.

"This means that it's going to either be very embarrassing or really suck," Daisuke translated, rapidly dodging the fist Tai threw at him. Matt shook his head at the squabbling siblings and focused back onto Tai.

"I think I trust you enough to at least hear what you have planned," he informed the brunet, patiently waiting to hear what he had come up with. Tai ignored Daisuke's feeble attempts to poke him and turned back to Matt with a wide smile.

'_Um…on second thought, maybe I shouldn't trust it.'_ Matt shuddered slightly. He saw a delirious glint in Tai's eyes and shuddered again.

'_Definitely shouldn't trust him.'_ he reinforced the thought

"Well, Mattie boy, I'm thinking that you should come home with us," Tai said brazenly, draping one arm lazily over Matt's shoulders. Matt looked down at the arm and then back at Tai. He gave his brain enough time to contemplate what Tai had just said to him, just to make sure that there was no mistake. Tai stared at him intently, eyes not blinking as he awaited the other's response.

"Are you serious?" Matt breathed out after a short pause, blue eyes trailing upwards to meet Tai's brown ones.

"Dead," Tai replied, offering a small smile that shone with sincerity.

"But what would your parents say about it? Wouldn't they be a bit miffed that I just pop up out of nowhere?"

"Of course not, Mom and Dad don't mind at all; they love kids," Daisuke quickly stated, excitement starting to build up again.

"Correction, **Mom** loves kids. Michael's never home enough to notice he has kids of his own," Tai said pointedly to Daisuke.

"Still, he wouldn't care if Matt came home with us," Daisuke continued to argue.

"Only because he wouldn't know he was there!"

"Are you trying to say that my father is unobservant?"

"I'm saying your father is an asshole!"

"**I already know that!"** Daisuke yelled at the top of his lungs in Tai's face, both brothers nose to nose with each other.

"Uh guys? Can we get back to talking about me here?" Matt interrupted them, placing one hand on Tai's face and the other on Daisuke's, pushing the two boys away from each other.

"Oh, yeah sure. Anyway, you should come with us. Mom would **love** you instantly, and I'm pretty sure Kari would like you too," Tai continued, swatting Matt's hand away from him.

"Hikari likes everybody," Daisuke added in. Tai glared at his carbon-copy and then smiled back to Matt.

"In fact, I demand that you come with us," he proclaimed. Matt raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"You demand, huh?"

"Yep!"

"Oh boy," Matt sighed with a roll of his eyes but grinned happily. He wouldn't have to go back! He could go home with Tai for the holidays. No having to face Clarice, no having to see his father with that wretched woman, and no leaving Tai. There was no way Matt would have been happy being without Tai for two weeks. After all, Tai was the first real friend that he had had in quite a while.

'_I'd forgotten what it feels like to be wanted.'_ An amused smirk crossed his lips. _'And it feels rather nice.'_

"Oh whoa, what about your dad?" Tai's voice appeared into his bubble of thought.

"What do you mean what about my dad? What does he have to do with any of this?"

"Well, we can't just kidnap you or something. Shouldn't you…oh, I don't know, call him and let him know where you're going first?"

"I don't see why he would even care really. Besides, I doubt he's expecting me to come home."

"Still, you should let him know," Tai insisted, getting off of the bed and retrieving the cordless phone that was next to the couch. "Now, you are going to call him and tell him where you're going, understand?" he stated sternly to the American boy as he thrusted the black phone into his hands. Matt stared blankly at the phone in his right hand, debating whether he should take Tai's advice or follow his own judgment. He carefully set the phone down in a spot on the bed where neither Daisuke nor he would squish it. He uncrossed his legs and climbed off of the bed, pulling Daisuke along.

"Maybe later, Tai. Right now I think it's about time we had some dinner. What do you think?" he suggested casually, already heading for the door.

"Food sounds good to me," Daisuke chirped, pace speeding up to match Matt's stride.

"Food always sounds good to you, Dais," Tai mumbled and reluctantly followed the other two towards the door. He paused just as he reached it, stopping in place. He swallowed and shook his head to clear his jumbled thoughts.

"Dai, you go ahead. Matt and I will catch up." He waved his brother onward while at the same time bringing Matt back into the room. Daisuke gave him a quizzical look but followed the orders given to him, disappearing down the flight of stairs. Tai shut the door once more and stood in front of it, blocking Matt's only way to escape. Matt stood before him once more, waiting for Tai to make the first move. Tai continued to hold his ground, only staring at the blond as intently as the blond was staring at him.

'_This is ridiculous.'_ Matt was quickly becoming rather irritated with Tai's antics.

"Look, can't you just start talking like a normal person instead of staring at me forever? It's **really** getting old," Matt sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. Tai crossed his arms as well, tugging at his collar to loosen his black tie.

"I know what you're doing," he finally spoke, eyes rising once again to meet Matt's.

"Oh? Well that's great. So can we get going now, I'm kind of hungry." Matt attempted to walk towards the door, but Tai's stare kept him in place.

"You can't avoid him forever, you know. You'll have to talk to him sometime," Tai told him nonchalantly, but still firm enough to let Matt know he was serious.

'_He seems to have a talent for that.'_ Matt sighed.

"Yeah, okay, so maybe you're right; doesn't mean it has to be sometime soon," Matt shot back.

"What are you so afraid of?" Tai questioned him, leaning his back against the door.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Yeah, sure. That's why you're avoiding your own father. I think you're afraid of him," Tai said tauntingly, knowing very well that it would get to the other boy easily.

"I am not afraid of my father," Matt all but growled at the brunet.

"Oh really? Prove it. Prove that you're not afraid of your father and call him," Tai challenged him. Matt narrowed his eyebrows and swiftly nodded.

"Fine. I will," he agreed haughtily, sticking out his tongue as well.

"Hey, keep that in your mouth unless you plan on using it, all right?" Matt rolled his eyes at Tai's simple, and yet slightly perverted analogy and headed for the door one more time.

"Wait, aren't you going to call him?" the brown-eyed boy asked, confused by his friend's actions now.

"Yes, after dinner." With that final conclusion, Yamato shoved Taichi aside and threw himself through the doorway, racing down to the dining hall.

"What a wuss," Tai snorted and closed the door, following in the other teen's footsteps.

* * *

"Seriously, who do they hire to work in the kitchens? **I want one!**" Daisuke exclaimed, placing a toothpick into his mouth. 

"I'll have to agree with Dais, the food is excellent! I haven't been fed this good since I was at **least** 12," Matt added in, leaning back in his chair.

"…they **are** feeding you at home right?" Tai asked cautiously, flashing the boy a concerned look.

"Oh yeah, of course. My dad's not **that **cruel. I'm just saying that my stepmother can't cook if her pitiful life depended on it," Matt replied, smirking at the idea of Clarice having to make a bowl of chocolate pudding or be thrown into a tank of sharks.

'_Oh the wonderful things that could come from that.'_ he thought dreamily, closing his eyes peacefully. That is, until Daisuke started speaking once more.

"Hey Tai, did Red leave?" he asked his brother as he downed the rest of his milk.

"Just yesterday, but it couldn't have been sooner."

"You seem like you're in pretty decent condition for putting up such a fight," Daisuke snickered. Matt decided to come out of his fantasy world and looked at the two Japanese boys.

"Who's Red?" he asked.

"She-Devil," Daisuke mumbled.

"Sora," Tai gave him a better name.

"Ah, Leech-Girl. Got it. How did you manage to survive with her practically glued to your arm?" he questioned his best friend who merely shrugged.

"It was hard, believe me, especially during the moments she was spying on me in the locker room showers," he said nonchalantly, waiting for a certain reaction.

"**Gross!"** Daisuke and Matt yelled in pure disgust, shuddering at the thought. Tai on the other hand burst into a fit of giggles, pleased that he got the reaction he wanted.

"Oh boy, that was great. You two are so gullible it's just great," Tai laughed, placing his head on the table in hopes of calming down. Daisuke frowned and stuck out his tongue, leaving Matt to do the same. However, a more brilliant plan came to mind.

"Um, Tai? She's right there and she looks ready to pounce," he said in the most serious tone he could muster

"**Ah! Hide me!"** Tai squeaked and dove under the table, crawling over towards Matt's legs. Daisuke howled with laughter while Matt attempted to shake Tai off of his leg.

"Tai, she's not really coming. Now get off of my leg!" Matt yelled, banging his foot against the table in hopes of breaking free of Tai's tight grip.

"No! Don't let her find me! I don't wanna go!" Tai exclaimed. Matt shook his head and pulled Tai up by the arm so that he was sitting on the bench next to him, banging his head on the way up.

"**Ow!"**

"Now look. See? No Leech-Girl." Matt showed him, gesturing to the entire area of boys. Just boys. Tai calmed down and slowly turned towards Matt, who in return gave him a cheeky grin.

"Who's gullible now?" he mocked the brunet.

"Hmm…truthfully? Still you," Tai retorted. Matt growled and shoved Tai lightly, but still hard enough that he managed to knock him off of the bench flat on his back.

"Again, ow. Shouldn't we go call your dad?" he reminded Matt from his place on the floor, drawing the statement out of nowhere.

"Right. Fine, let's get this over with," Matt replied dreadfully. The duo got up and headed out of the dining hall and towards the flight of stairs.

"Wait for me!" Daisuke exclaimed, shooting out of the dining hall after his friends. He crashed right into Matt's back and fell backward, landing in a position similar to the previous one Tai had been in.

"It's scary how much you two are alike," Matt commented, opening the door to the room. The darker boys trailed after him, sitting on Tai's bed while Matt sat on his own with the phone in hand. His fingers lingered over the dial pad as he bit on his bottom lip, working out what he was going to say.

"Dude, just go with the flow," Tai advised him, almost as though he could read Matt's thoughts. And maybe he could. There were many things about Taichi Yagami that Matt could not find an explanation for. Not a logical one at any rate. There was something different about that boy, something that Matt hadn't been able to put his finger on yet. Okay so sure he was a schizophrenic. Big whoop. That may have something to do with his personality, but...it was almost like…

"Matt, just dial damnit!" Daisuke said brashly, shaking Matt out of his other thoughts. Nodding determinedly, Matt pressed the on button of the phone and dialed the familiar number.

* * *

"Hello?" 

"Dad?"

"Yamato, is that you?"

"Duh, who else would call you Dad? Unless you and Clarice shacked up while I was gone and didn't bother to tell me."

"Yamato, don't start."

"Sorry."

"So, how's school?"

"It's fine."

"That's good. When are you coming home for Christmas?"

"Yeah, about that…um, I was kind of wondering if I could stay here."

"Oh and what would you do there? Stay at the school by yourself?"

"No Dad, I'd go home with my friends. They already offered to let me stay with them through the holidays."

"You have friends now?"

"Yes, believe it or not, and they both want me to go home with them for the break."

"You know I would rather that you come home."

"I don't care."

"Yamato…"

"Dad, why can't you just let me do what makes **me** happy?"

"Yamato, I would just like to see you again. Christmas is about family after all."

"Yeah, some family. I really want to go home to a family where the 'mother' is the biggest bitch on the planet and the father doesn't do anything about it. Gee, let me go pack my bags right now."

"Yamato, stop. You know I can't control what Clarice says or does and-"

"That is the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard! You know damn well that you could try to stop her!"

"Yamato, don't be difficult."

"You know what Dad? I really don't care what decision **you **want. **I'm **staying in Japan, **I'm** going home with my friends, and **I'm not** coming home because it's **my** choice, not yours!"

"You're going to have to come home for the summer."

"Screw the summer! I'll find some way to stay here if I have to!"

"Yamato, what's gotten into you? I think you've gotten worse."

"Goodbye Dad."

"Yamato, don't you dare hang up this phone. Yamato…**Yamato!**"

* * *

Matt angrily shut the phone off and threw it onto his bed harshly. He grabbed the nearest pillow on his bed and screamed as loud as he possibly could. 

"It went that well huh?" Tai asked lightly, walking over towards the blond cautiously.

"That stupid asshole! Who does he think he is? Trying to make rules and planning **m**y life and making **my **choices for me!" Matt shouted in rage, flinging the pillow across the room. Daisuke quickly leapt up and caught it before he broke anything.

"Hate to break it to you dude, but that's usually what parents do," Tai explained, sitting on the bed next to Matt. The American boy was shaking with rage as Tai pulled him into his lap before he could hurt himself, or Tai for that matter.

"Ha, some parent. Swear he was better off single," Matt growled. Daisuke watched the older pair carefully, analyzing them closely.

"Um…I think I'll leave now. I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said quietly, bowing to both of them before fleeing the room. Matt blinked in surprise and sighed again for the umpth-teen time that night.

"Great, now I freaked Dais out," he said in a low voice.

"He'll be fine. Besides, you should see him when you steal one of his video games. Ten times as bad as what you just did," Tai said in attempt to lighten the mood. Matt didn't respond and continued to look at the far wall. Tai took a deep breath and dove right in head-first.

"What happened?"

"He doesn't want me staying here. He wanted me to come home," Matt replied softly as all of the rage left him at a rapid pace.

"Why didn't you?" Tai prodded on, gently petting Matt's soft spiky hair.

"Because I don't want to deal with my stepmother."

"Is she really that bad, Matt? Maybe just give her a chance?"

"Just like the chance you gave Michael?" Matt shot back.

"Hey now, that's different."

"No it's not. It's exactly the same thing and you know it!"

"Hey, I **gave** Michael his chance. Kari and I both did. **He** just didn't want to take it."

"And I gave Clarice hers! The woman makes me..."

"What?"

"She just…makes me feel so intimidated, acting like I don't matter. She hates me is what it is. She wants Dad for his money, I know it. He's too blind to realize it though. It's just because he really-"

"Misses your mom," the mud-eyed boy finished for him. Matt turned around to face Tai, surprised at the understanding the other held.

"Exactly."

"I guess I don't blame you then, for not wanting to go home. I mean, who would want to go somewhere where you're not wanted?" Tai asked rhetorically, still stroking Matt's hair. Matt nodded slowly and allowed his eyes to droop a little bit.

"Can I ask you something, Tai?" he questioned, trying to stay awake long enough to ask the burning question.

"Sure."

"How is it that you always understand me?" Tai's hand stopped moving, pausing to think of an answer to satisfy his friend. But how could he answer something that he himself didn't even know the answer to? It wasn't that hard to understand what Matt was saying or how he was feeling. It just came naturally to the Japanese boy.

"You know what? I'm not sure. I just…can. I don't know how or why, but I can."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad that you can. I've never had someone like you in my life before that can make me feel…" Matt slurred out just before he drifted into a peaceful slumber, too drained to finish his thought. Tai smiled at his companion, getting off of his bed so that he could rest comfortably. He threw a blanket over the sleeping form and stroked his hair once more.

"I'm glad that you feel loved again, Yama. You deserve it," he whispered. He turned around and walked to his own bed, not bothering to do much other then take off his tie. He crawled under his covers and shut off the lamp, letting thenight claim him slowly.

* * *

'_C'mon. Only two more minutes.'_ Tai thought urgently, staring up at the clock above to doorway. Yes, only two more minutes until they were free to go home for the holidays. Two and a half weeks out of school and back with his mother and sister. And now his best friend was joining the party too. Yes, life was just about perfect. 

"And that concludes today's lesson," Mr. Akiyamo stated, closing the textbook in front of him. The final bell sounded off and all of the boys shot out of the classroom.

Correction, life was perfect.

Taichi and Daisuke shot out of Akiyamo's class and down the hall to the Art Room. They stood outside of the door and waited for the third member of their little group to show up. Ten minutes later, Matt strutted out of the classroom, knowing that his friends wanted him to rush.

"Matt, come on! Our cab's gonna be here in three hours!" Tai exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm. Yanking Matt along behind him and with Daisuke hot on his heels, Tai ran all the way down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Dais, go and pack okay? Matt and I need to pack up here," Tai told his younger half-brother. The boy nodded obediently and bounced out of the room and down the hall to his own. Tai flung open the closet doors, allowing all of his junk to fall to the ground.

"Aw man," Matt groaned, looking at the big mess before him.

"Hey chill out, Matt. Most of this crap is going home with me anyway," Tai said easily and proceeded to shove all of his soccer stuff into a duffel bag. Matt muttered under his breath and took out his own suitcase from under his bed.

"So did you call your mom and let her know I was coming with you?" he asked as he started neatly packing his clothes into his bag.

"Nope."

"**Dude!** Why not?"

"**Dude!** Why bother? I already told you, my mother won't care," Tai said, balancing three pairs of jeans, a deflated soccer ball, and his laptop in the middle of his junk-zone.

"I know that's what you said, but I would feel more comfortable if she knew ahead of time."

"Man, you are so formal. Of course, this coming from the guy who called his father a stupid asshole for acting like a parent."

"Oh just shut up and call her," Matt instructed him. Tai shook his head and walked away from his junk, reaching for the cordless phone. He easily dialed the home number and went back to packing.

"Hey Hika, it's me. Yeah, we're packing up right now. Cab should be here in about two hours. Listen, where's Mom? Okay, thanks," Tai paused in his talking and threw some more garbage into his duffel bag.

"Hi, Mom. Yeah we're both fine. Uh-huh. Yes. Yes. Yes. Hey, I have something to tell you. I kind of invited a friend of mine to come home with me and Dais. Yeah, for the whole break. He lives in America and we both figured it was kind of dumb for him to go back for two weeks and then come back here. Yes his father knows. Uh-huh. I knew you wouldn't but he insisted that you know before he just randomly showed up. Oh she is? For how long? Yeah. And then another? A **guy?** What? You let her invite a **guy** home? Yes. Okay, I promise. Yes. Okay, we'll see you in a couple of hours. Uh-huh, love you too. Bye." Tai hung up the phone and threw it back on the couch.

"Well?"

"I told you she wouldn't mind. Besides, sounds like my sister's friend Megumi is over at the house for a few days too. And then she's having another friend come over after Christmas for the rest of break. Her 'boyfriend' is what it sounds like," Tai said in a bored tone.

"Oh, all right. That's good, I guess."

"Yes it's good. My mom's really excited to meet you."

"Good, I want to meet her too."

"You'll like her. Trust me." Tai winked and walked back over to his closet, pulling off his jacket and white collared shirt. Matt turned around to ask him a question but that was thrown out the window when he caught a glimpse of Tai.

'_Okay Matt, calm down. Whatever you do, _**don't**_think about the shower incident.'_ he scolded himself. Tai didn't appear to notice Matt staring at him and slipped on a light blue T-shirt, much to Matt's disappointment.

'_Wait, disappointment? Why would I care?'_ the blond thought to himself once more. However, the shirt humored him. On it was that starfish from Spongebob Squarepants, what's his name?

'_Oh yeah, Patrick.'_ He was sitting there with a board on his head with a nail in it. A hammer was in his hand and under the picture was the word, 'Bored.' Matt shook his head and looked away to look for something new to wear. However, curiosity got the best of him and he turned around again, only this time to be greeted with the sight of Tai wearing only his boxers.

"Nice boxers, Tai," Matt snorted. Tai turned around and stuck his tongue out a bit.

"I happen to like Spongebob okay?" he defended himself. He still looked rather funny standing there in a pair of yellow boxers with the face of a sponge cartoon character on his rear.

"Sure, whatever," Matt replied, slipping off his own shirt and jacket.

"Wow, you sure don't show those muscles off often do you?" Tai whistled teasingly.

"Oh shove it," Matt replied, slipping on his black Ataris T-shirt.

"Where and how hard?"

"Perv," Matt declared. Tai grinned widely and pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans, working on tying his left shoe onto his foot. Matt slipped into his own pair of black cargo jeans and changed into his black sneakers.

"Hmm, interesting," Tai said from behind him. Matt turned and faced him.

"What?"

"Those jeans outline your ass perfectly." Tai smirked. As a result, Matt threw Tai's right shoe at him.

* * *

One hour later, all three boys were standing outside of the school building with their bags in hand, waiting for the cab to pick them up to take them back to the actual city of Odaiba. 

"Hey Dais, I forgot to tell you. Megumi's at the house," Tai said to the younger boy.

"No way! Megumi's so cool! She can actually keep up with my video gaming skills! How long will she be around?" Daisuke beamed at the mere idea of Megumi being there.

"I think Mom said until Christmas Eve."

"Great!" The yellow cab pulled up into the driveway and stopped before the group, ending their conversation. They all loaded their gear into the trunk of the car and hopped into the backseat, preparing themselves for the hour and a half trip home. The cab started up again and pulled out of the driveway, heading for the main roads. It happened to be that Tai was sitting in the middle of the two other boys. Daisuke was already sucked in by his Gameboy Color, zapping little aliens on the screen. Tai turned to his left and looked at Matt who was staring out the window. Tai carefully nudged him in the ribs, causing two blue orbs to fixate on him.

"Is what you said last night true?" Tai asked.

"About what?" Matt turned to face Tai completely.

"That you've never had anyone like me in your life before. Is that true?"

"For the most part."

"Meaning?"

"There used to be one person a lot like you. But then she moved."

"She?"

"Remember my friend Mimi I told you about?"

"Yes."

"Her. Meems was so much like you. You both understood me for no real reason at all, and it all just clicked. You two were the best friends I've ever had in my life."

"What happened to her?"

"She moved away when we were eight. I don't know where to or anything, just that she's gone."

"I'm sorry, Matt."

"Ah, don't be. Maybe I'll see her again one day," Matt replied, looking back out the window again.

"Maybe. You never know. Anything is possible in this crazy world," Tai said cheerfully. Matt nodded and ended the conversation. Tai looked away from the blond next to him and sighed.

'_At least I know I'm helping him somehow.'_ He reached down between his feet and pulled his Discman out of his bag and put his headphones on, drowning himself in the sounds of Matt's Simple Plan CD for the rest of the ride.

* * *

The cab pulled up into the Yagami-Motomiya driveway. Tai opened his eyes and poked Matt in the side. 

"Yama, wake up. We're here," he whispered into his ear. Matt's eyes slowly fluttered open, gazing into Tai's own. He sat up a little more and yawned, rubbing his eyes a bit.

"Wow, already?" he asked. Tai nodded and opened the door, crawling out of the cab. Matt soon followed and the two boys went back to the trunk by Daisuke, who had jumped out as soon as the car stopped moving. While the two brothers were busy unpacking, Matt stared at the house in awe.

"Tai, you never told me your house was so…huge!" he breathed out, taking in the beauty of the Victorian-styled home.

'_Funny. I never imagined they would make Victorian-styled homes in Japan.'_ He studied the irony of the situation.

"Nah, it's not that big," Tai replied, hoisting Matt's suitcase out of the trunk and onto the ground next to the blonde.

"How many stories?"

"Um, three. Four if you count the basement."

"Jeeze! It's a freakin' **mansion!**" Matt yelped. Daisuke nodded and shut the trunk.

"Isn't it great?" he said, grin growing wider by the minute.

"Hell yeah," Matt replied.

"C'mon, guys, grab your stuff and let's go," Tai commanded, grabbing his duffel bag from the ground. Each boy picked up their belongings and walked to the front door. Tai was the only one with a free hand, so he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"Mom? We're home!" he announced, allowing his stuff to drop in the front hall. Matt's eyes began to wander around the house. The inside was more impressive than the outside. So many fancy paintings and ornaments hung from the walls and the ceilings were high with a few sky-lights. To the left of the front hall was a staircase, which Matt assumed led up to the second floor. To the right was the living room which held many kinds of chairs and a few couches as well. Matt's eye tour was cut short however as Mrs. Yagami walked into the front hall.

"Hello boys!" she greeted her children. Daisuke threw himself at his mother while Tai walked at a calmer pace, allowing her to hug him briefly. "It's nice to have you two home," she told them, letting go of Daisuke. Her gaze landed on Matt and she smiled.

"And who might you be?" she questioned, giving him the full once-over.

"That's Matt, my friend I told you about," Tai explained.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Motomiya. Er, Yagami. Um…which do you go by?" he asked her, feeling rather confused. The woman laughed and smiled at him kindly.

"Call me Ami if that's easier for you. All of the kids' friends do," Ami informed him.

'_She seems nice enough.' _Matt decided. Her mid-back length light brown hair was held back in a ponytail and her crimson-amber eyes shone with youth. She was dressed down in a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt.

'_Yep, definitely like her.'_ Matt confirmed.

"Well boys, why don't you take all of your stuff upstairs? Matt honey, you can sleep in the guest room right across from the boys' room," Ami offered.

"Thanks, Ami," Matt replied, grabbing his stuff from off of the floor. Tai and Daisuke picked up their own stuff as well and all three of them headed for the stairs.

"Well, look who decided to show up," a new voice joined the conversation. A young **female** voice, to be exact. Matt turned his head towards the top of the staircase. Leaning on the railing was a young girl, possibly no older then 13. Her not-quite shoulder-length light brown hair hung around her face with a few strands pulled back into two pink clips. She held the same eyes that Ami had and a rather cute face. She was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt that read Odaiba T-Wolves on the front and a cheerleading skirt.

"Yes, your worst nightmares," Tai said jokingly.

"Oh, whatever shall I do?" she moaned in a mocking manner just before she ran down the stairs, jumping right into Tai's waiting arms.

"How've you been kid?" he greeted her, giving her a warm hug.

"Really good. It's been lonely without you two around though, as always" she replied. She turned to Daisuke and smiled again. "What? Too good to say hello?" she snorted, quirking up an eyebrow.

"Possibly," Daisuke replied and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"There, that's better." She grinned. She then turned to Matt and blinked in surprise. "Who the hell are you?" she asked before she could stop herself, rather shocked that a third person was standing there.

"Hikari, be nice," Ami warned her.

"Kari, this is Matt. He's my roommate at school and my best friend," Tai explained. Kari gave Matt an embarrassed grin and waved.

"Oh, sorry…didn't mean to offend you or anything," she said nervously.

"Nah, it's cool kid. Don't sweat it." Matt grinned back. Kari's face shone brighter and she nodded. She turned towards the stairs and opened her mouth.

"**Megumi! Come down here!"** she screamed at the top of her lungs. Matt, Tai, and Daisuke all winced at the volume. Another girl came bouncing down the stairs at this point, wearing the same outfit Kari was. Her long strawberry-blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her honey brown eyes were wide with innocence.

'_Wait, I know those eyes.'_ Matt backtracked.

"Hey Megumi," Tai greeted the other girl, also grabbing her into a hug.

"Tai, you're going to squish me!" Megumi squealed with laughter, briefly returning the hug. She turned to Daisuke and smiled brightly. "Hey Dai."

"Megumi, great to see you! You and me, Gran Turismo 3 match later," he said in return. Megumi rolled her eyes but agreed to the challenge. She turned to Matt lastly and stared at him.

"Don't think I've seen you before…" she stated slowly, crossing her arms over her chest

'_I know that voice too…but it can't be…can it?'_ His thoughts were becoming a mash of everything, all unreadable and hard to follow. But he was sure of it this time.

'_She's definitely gotten older…prettier too. But she's still recognizable. Doubt she remembers me though…oh hell, it's worth a shot'_

"Mimi," he said softly, staring deep into the brown eyes.

"Dude, that's Megumi." Tai replied.

"No, I'm telling you, it's Mimi." Matt kept his ground, waiting for some sort of reaction from said girl.

"Matt, are you sure you're okay?" Daisuke asked him.

"I'm fine! I'm telling you, that's **my** Mimi! I'm sure of it!" he spoke desperately. Megumi slowly uncrossed her arms and got a good look at the boy before her. She nodded once and smiled slowly, saying the words he had been hoping to hear.

"Good to see you again, Yamato Ishida."

* * *

So yeah, this is edited for the most part. 

Thanks to: **Digininga**, Redrum, **Sillie**, LadyK Na-No-Da, **Lil Gold Fishie**, Arashi Doragon, **Phunky Phish**, Jedi Takeru, **Sen-Tay**, shadow-seraph, **happy cat**, Melissa-O, **Raku Ozzarian princess**, Tsuki no Lomelinde, **Kayanna**, neo, **Aero-Grrl**, Kelset, **Sakura Fae**, Mrs. Passionate, **Heaven's Angel Chick**, kat5, **Mira Black**, Splash-Yaoiluv, **Burning Angemon**, Siyengo, **tenshi208, **Plotbunny, **Inuyasha-Luv-Kagome**, Fifth-Year-Ronin, **LittleDarkOne**, Squrlie Jack, and **BlueAzul13**. You guys rock and such, thanks for reviewing.


	6. Meeting

_**In life, there are meetings which seem like a fate.**_

_**-Lord Lytton**_

* * *

"Somebody care to explain what's going on here?" Tai asked as his eyes shifted between Matt and Mimi. 

"That's what I would like to know," Matt added, turning to look at Mimi. The strawberry-blonde bit her lower lip and grabbed Matt's hand.

"Come on," she demanded, dragging the blond boy forward. The three dark-haired siblings followed after her quickly. Mimi marched into a new sitting room and turned to the left, walking down four steps into the den. She pushed Matt down on the couch and beckoned for the Yagami-Motomiya siblings to do likewise. Once they were all seated, Mimi cleared her throat and began her explanation.

"As I'm sure Matt told you, I moved away from America when I was nine years old," she directed her first comment towards Tai.

"He mentioned it," the teenage boy replied. Mimi merely nodded and continued.

"When I was nine, I was discovered by some company to be a model. Naturally, my mother wanted me to accept the job and I was ecstatic, to say the least. I accepted and I began modeling. However, the company didn't like my name."

"Why not? I think Mimi is a pretty name," Daisuke interjected. Mimi caught the boy's eye and grinned.

"Thanks, Daisuke. The company thought that Mimi was too common of a name. So they asked me to change it to Megumi."

"Oh, like **that** isn't a common name?" Kari remarked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, I know, but I really wanted to continue modeling. So I ignored their logic and changed my name for the time being."

"Didn't you quit modeling though?" Tai asked her.

"When I was 12, yeah. But the name Megumi just stuck with me. Even my parents started calling me Megumi." Mimi shrugged with a lopsided grin.

"So you became Megumi for all of these years," Matt repeated, pondering the situation carefully.

"Yep. I was Megumi Tachikawa, model extraordinaire."

"They let you keep your last name though," Matt continued.

"Of course, due to my parents' wishes," she replied casually. She shook her head briefly and clapped her hands together. "But, that's all in the past! I'm back to being regular old Mimi," she beamed, crossing her arms behind her back. Tai rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Just when we thought things couldn't get any stranger. We're so used to calling you Megumi," he stated.

"Yea, calling you Mimi is going to be so…different. It seems so foreign," Kari backed her brother up.

"Come on, Kar! You're my best friend, it shouldn't be **that** difficult to make a name change for me in your memory bank!" Mimi chirped.

"She's right you know," Daisuke stepped in. All heads swiveled to stare at the pre-teen. "Megumi and Mimi aren't that different. It shouldn't be too hard to change," he finished, flashing Mimi a charming smile. Mimi reached out and ruffled his burgundy hair.

"That's the ticket, Dais!" she exclaimed cheerfully. Daisuke let out a nervous laugh, attempting to hide the small blush that was blooming. Tai took notice to this and concealed a Cheshire-cat grin.

"So, now that we know all of the story, we can move on to bigger and greater things!" Tai announced, jumping up from his spot on the couch.

"Like what?" Kari asked her brother, raising her amber-brown eyes to meet his mud ones.

"I don't know. Maybe mine, Daisuke's, and Matt's greeting ceremony?" he suggested.

"And what ceremony is this?" Mimi raised a fine eyebrow.

"The one where you two," Tai pointed to Mimi and Kari, "bring us three the biggest ice cream sundaes you can possibly make," he replied playfully. Kari and Mimi met eyes with each other, looked at Tai, and then back at one another. Both girls seized a pillow and pitched them at Tai.

"Go get them yourself!" they yelled simultaneously and stormed out of the den, racing back up to Kari's room. Tai got up to retrieve the pillows and placed them back on the couch neatly.

"I don't think I'm ever going to understand girls," he sighed, flopping down on said couch between Matt and Daisuke.

"What's there to really understand? You say the wrong thing, they get angry. You try to correct it, they get angrier. It's a never-ending cycle," Matt summed up.

"Not all girls are like that," Daisuke denied quietly. The older boys craned their necks once more to stare at him.

"Name one who isn't like that, Dais," Tai challenged his half-brother. Daisuke's gaze fell to his lap.

"Well, I don't know. But not all of them are like that," the younger boy mumbled. Tai and Matt locked eyes and exchanged knowing smiles. Matt suddenly jumped up and changed the subject.

"Come on you two, let's go unpack or something," he suggested, waiting for the two brothers to follow his example. The two brown-eyed boys stared blankly at the blond before them.

"Dude, it's the first day of our vacation. We reserve the right to be lazy," Tai yawned, stretching his legs out in the spot Matt had just left.

"Not while I'm here you don't," Matt replied, grabbing Tai by the hands and yanking him up.

"Yie!" Tai squeaked, stumbling forward due to the sudden whiplash. Matt smirked at his brown-haired companion and pulled him out of the den with Daisuke trailing along behind them as quick as he could. The trio ran up the flight of stairs to the second floor, stopping in the middle of the landing.

"Okay see, the girls' room is right there," Tai started off, pointing off to the right. On the door at the end of the hall to the right hung a blue, white, and gray football pennant with the name Odaiba Timber-wolves printed on it. Blue and white pom-poms also decorated the door along with other gold ribbon.

"Our room is over there." Tai pointed out a room at the end of the left side of the hallway. The door itself had a piece of lime green tape running down the middle. On the left side were various soccer balls in all different colors and a sleeveless soccer jersey, along with a few scattered anime pictures. The other half of the door was covered in police tape and pictures from different Playstation game manuals. Tai walked closer to the door and stopped in front of it.

"And that is your room for the time being." Tai pointed at a red door across the hall from his room. Matt looked over at the door and walked closer, pushing it part-way open. He opened the door wider and peered inside. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. There was a window directly across from the door and a standard size bed underneath it, decorated with blue covers. On the wall to the right of the bed lay a black futon couch that held different throw pillows and had a blanket draped over the top. Opposite of the futon was the closet, along with a red chest of drawers. As Matt walked in he noticed that to the left of the door was a desk and to the right was a night table that the lamp sat on. He walked closer to the bed and threw his bag down, leaning over to look out the window. He could see a good portion of the neighborhood from the window, but there was nothing relatively interesting out at the moment.

"So what do you think?" Tai asked the blond as he and Daisuke followed Matt into the room.

"It's perfect. Absolutely perfect," Matt replied as he turned around to face the darker boys.

"Hmm, looks like Kari cleaned it before we got here," Daisuke commented as he opened the closet.

"Damn straight she did. And Mom gave her 1113 yen for doing a good job," Kari replied, leaning up against the door frame.

"Is there any reason you're referring to yourself in third person?" Matt quirked his right eyebrow.

"Because she's weird like that!" Mimi answered as she appeared behind Kari's shoulder.

"Thanks." Kari smiled at her friend who in turned giggled.

"Is there any real reason you two are in here?" Tai interrupted them.

"Mom said to let you three know dinner's ready," Kari explained.

"Good! What'd she make?" Daisuke asked instantly.

"Barbeque ribs and rice balls," Mimi announced, grabbing Kari by the arm and dragging her away from the door.

"You better hurry up before Meg-I mean, Mimi and I eat all the food!" Kari shouted over her shoulder as she and Mimi raced down the stairs. The three boys stood in silence, glancing at one another every now and then.

"They wouldn't **really** eat all that food, would they?" Matt asked cautiously, blinking at the other two.

"Never underestimate the power of my sister and Mimi," Tai replied. Matt merely nodded and stared at the two boys again. The two boys stared at each other and then back at Matt, not moving an inch.

"**I refuse to sacrifice my dinner!"** Daisuke suddenly proclaimed and raced out of the room with Matt and Tai on his tail. The three boys thundered down the stairs and shoved each other around in haste to get to the kitchen. Tai managed to arrive first, followed by Matt and Daisuke at a close tie and they all collapsed in their chairs. The table was square like a picnic table and sat eight people, three chairs on each side of the table and one at each end. The girls were already sitting in two chairs on the side closest to the kitchen feasting upon the ribs. The boys trooped over to the side closest to the window where their plates were awaiting them. Matt sat down between the two brothers and poked at his rice ball.

"Matt, it's not going to bite," Daisuke chuckled as he drank from his glass of milk.

"I never said it would," Matt chided, resuming back to poking the rice ball.

"Matt, relax. My mom makes the best rice balls," Tai reassured the blue-eyed boy.

"That's about all she** can** make," Kari joined in their conversation.

"I heard that, young lady." Ami appeared behind Kari and lightly swatted her on the head with an oven mitt.

"Sorry Mom, but she is right…" Daisuke trailed off.

"I feel so hurt! Betrayed by my own children due to the persuasion of their taste buds." Ami placed the back of her hand to her head dramatically. Kari and Mimi burst into giggles and the three boys shook their heads.

"I still think you make excellent rice balls, Ami," Mimi repeated Tai and took a bite out of said rice ball.

"Thank you, Megumi." Ami smiled at the young girl.

"Actually, it's Mimi now…" the brown-eyed girl corrected her.

"Right, Mimi. Sorry, I forgot," Ami apologized and sat in one of the end chairs.

"It's perfectly fine, I understand totally," Mimi reassured the older woman and continued nibbling at her rice ball.

"Wait, if you didn't make these ribs then, who did?" Matt asked, breaking off a small chunk of the meat. All five of the other people shared identical glances at each other and turned back to Matt.

"Take-out," they replied simultaneously. Matt rolled his eyes and shook his head as everyone began to laugh.

Dinner was filled with loud chatter and good food. The Yagami/Motomiya family treated Matt and Mimi as if they were family. Matt got to know Kari a bit better and Ami and Mimi started learning more about Matt.

'_Dinner here is nothing like at home. If I was at home eating dinner with my Dad and Clarice it would be quiet and orderly. But here…'_

"Hey watch it!" Daisuke exclaimed as a piece of Mimi's rice ball flew across the table. Mimi stuck her tongue out playfully and continued eating.

'_Here, everything is so chaotic and spontaneous. It's wonderful.'_ Matt confirmed in his thoughts as he watched Daisuke place a piece of his meat into his spoon. The young boy pulled the spoon back and fired it directly at Mimi. Too bad his aim was weak.

"Daisuke!" Kari yelped at the meat hit her in the neck. She shot her younger brother a death glare. The boy let out a nervous chuckle and slightly waved his fingers at her. Kari narrowed her eyes and raised her glass of water. She drew her arm back to fire just as Mimi got up, knocking her arm askewer and flinging the water all over Tai. Kari gasped and the room fell silent.

"Oh my gosh, Tai, I'm so sorry!" the younger sister apologized. No one said anything as Tai raised his head, meeting his gaze with his sister's. Not bothering to wipe the water out of his eyes, he turned his head to Matt.

"What?" the American boy asked warily, not liking the look Tai was giving him. Tai shook his head and gave Matt a demonic grin as his hand inched towards his broken-up rice ball.

"Y'know, Ishida…you're just too clean to be sitting at this table…" Tai trailed off and he scooped some rice and barbeque sauce into his hand. Matt spotted this and started to rise to his feet.

"Taichi, you are absolutely right. So I think I'll just leave and-" he wasn't able to finish his sentence as Tai reached his hand up and mushed the soppy mix into Matt's golden blond hair. Matt gritted his teeth and slowly turned towards Tai.

"You did **not **just do that," he growled out.

"Oh, but I did." Tai smirked. Matt gathered up some more of the sticky mess from Tai's plate and lifted his shirt, smearing it all over his chest. Tai's winning smirk changed into a shocked stare.

"How do you like that?" Matt said in a challenging tone. Tai looked over Matt's shoulder and grinned.

"Oh, just fine." His grin grew wider. Matt tried to look behind him but it was too late as Daisuke dumped the last half of his milk down Matt's shirt.

"Cold!" Matt squealed as his back went rigid.

"Ha!" Daisuke shouted triumphantly. His victory didn't last too long as a rib went zooming through the air and connected with his jaw, proceeding to slide down the front of his shirt.

"Double ha!" Kari grinned, twirling one of the ribs between her fingers. It was at this moment Ami decided to sneak out of the kitchen.

"You guys are all cleaning this mess up after you're done." Ami suppressed a smile as she retreated to the living room. All five of the kids stared at each other, each one waiting for someone else to make the first move.

"…Oh this is ridiculous!" Mimi huffed and threw the rest of her rice ball at Matt.

"Every man, er, woman, um….oh hell, everybody for themselves!" Tai declared battle as he jumped over to the other side of the table and spread some of his barbeque-rice mix on Kari's face.

"The perfect mixture to help clear those pores," Tai teased her.

"I'm so sure," Kari replied as yanked his shirt up and stuck pieces of rice onto the mix that was on his abdomen. Mimi walked over to the other side of the table with her plate in her hand, waiting for the right moment.

"Daisuke I'm going to kill you!" Matt hollered as he ruffled some rice into his hair.

"Hey, wait a minute, I'm not the one who touched your hair!" Daisuke protested as he backed up closer to Mimi. The honey-eyed girl smirked and pulled at the back of Daisuke's jogging pants, dumping the remains of her dinner into his boxers.

"Whoa! **Nothing** should ever go down there!" he insisted and pulled away as he tried shaking the food out of his shorts. "C'mon Mimi, I thought you loved me!" Daisuke whined. Mimi merely laughed and dumped the rest of the sauce that hadn't gone into his pants onto his hair.

"Nope, sorry, fair game!" She grinned cheekily just as a glass of Coke splashed the back of her head.

* * *

The food fight continued on until there was no more food left to throw, stuff, mash or squish onto each other. Kari was the first one to recover. 

"Boy…look at this mess," she whistled, examining the food-stained kitchen. All five kids blinked guiltily.

"Guess we got a bit carried away?" Matt shrugged. Tai sighed but grinned.

"Maybe, but it was excellent," he replied as he licked some sauce off of Matt's arm.

"Hey, get your own!" Matt pulled his arm away.

"Come on you guys, let's clean this up so we can do something else," Mimi suggested as she started to gather the plates.

"That's a great idea, let's get to it!" Daisuke added enthusiastically. Tai leaned over and placed his mouth next to Matt's ear.

"Anything Mimi suggests is a good idea to him," Tai whispered and rolled his eyes.

"Aw, does Daisuke have a wittle crush?" Matt whispered back with a snicker. The two older boys shared identical grins and stepped apart as they began to help reorganize the kitchen.

Thirty-five minutes and some heavy mopping later, the kitchen was back to being sparkling, almost as if nothing had happened.

"Well, the next step is to shower, then we can watch a movie or something fun," Tai informed the group as he scratched at his chest.

"Well, if we use Mom and Dad's bathroom, there're three showers available: the upstairs bathroom, Mom and Dad's bathroom, and the den bathroom," Daisuke listed off on his fingers.

"Well, Matt and I could save time and just shower together." Tai winked at the blond, who in turn looked rather horrified.

"Tai…that's just plain kinky." Kari raised both of her eyebrows. Tai's lips began to twitch and he soon cracked up.

"Oh man, I wasn't serious! Give me a break here!" he said between laughs. The two girls rolled their eyes while Matt let out a relieved sigh.

"I say Kari and I get two of the showers first. You three can fight over who gets the last one." Mimi waved her hand in a vague fashion and turned around. The two girls rushed back up the stairs and occupied the two bathrooms. Tai sighed and looked at his two companions.

"Well, who wants the shower down here?" he asked. Matt stared down at his shoes, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Daisuke looked at his brother first and then back at Matt. Tai continued to watch the pale boy and a small frown crossed his face. Daisuke bit his lip and clapped his hands together.

"Well, Matt, why don't you take the shower first? Tai, can I talk to you?" the mahogany-haired boy addressed both older boys at once. No sooner had those words left his mouth did he grab Tai by the forearm and drag him towards the stairs.

"O…kay…" Matt said uncertainly and walked into the bathroom, clicking the door shut softly behind him.

Daisuke continued to keep his firm grip on Tai's arm as he marched upstairs and into their room, kicking the door shut with his foot as they walked in. He shoved Tai towards his bed and sat down on his own.

"What's up, Dais?" the mud-eyed boy asked his younger brother.

"Don't give me that, Tai. I should be asking you the same thing," Daisuke shot back, folding his arms over his chest.

"Huh?"

"You're hitting on Matt."

"Am not!"

"Well, Matt and I could save some time and just shower together," Daisuke mimicked Tai's comment from earlier.

"Oh quit it. You know I was just screwing around."

"And if you had your way, that wouldn't be the only thing you'd be screwing with."

"…"

"You like him, don't you?" Daisuke asked, tilting his head to the side. Tai sighed and ran a hand through his hair, dropping some pieces of rice on the floor.

"I-I'm not sure yet…there might be something there…but I don't know for sure," Tai replied quietly.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, I can't tell if it's strong friendship or love. Or lust, one of those three."

"Does Matt even know that you're bi?"

"…I'll tell him eventually. Besides, I'm not sure if it's even bi now…I'm more attracted to guys anyway at this point…but I still like girls…I think…well, yeah…um…yeah we'll just say bi."

"Tai!"

"What!"

"That's not fair to him; he's going to end up thinking you're just really weird!"

"Dai, he **already** thinks I'm really weird."

"Well okay, more so than usual. Look, at least tell him. Please?"

"So that he can be uncomfortable sharing a room with me and change his total opinion." Tai rolled his eyes.

"I don't think he would mind."

"Well I do. Matt's just not like that. So I'm safer just keeping my flirty charm that I use on everybody."

"Tai, just let him know."

"Let who know what?" Kari's head poked into the doorway.

"Never mind, Kar. Are you and Mimi done with the showers?" Tai sidestepped her question and got off of his bed.

"Yeah, go for it," she replied and disappeared into her bedroom again.

"Tai…"

"Drop it, Daisuke," Tai cut him off sharply and walked across the hall, slamming the bathroom door behind him.

"I wish he wasn't so stubborn," Daisuke muttered as he grabbed a pair of yellow pajama bottoms and headed into his parents' bathroom.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Tai came out of the bathroom and stepped across the hall towards his bedroom. He opened the door and slowly closed it behind him, not bothering to look inside first. He turned around and let a cry of surprise, as did Matt who was currently standing in the room with nothing but a pair of baby-blue boxers on. 

"Can I help you?" Tai glared at the blond boy.

"Daisuke for some reason decided to go change in my room so I came in here to change." Matt shrugged and bent down to reach his duffel bag.

'_He really thinks that by placing Matt in his boxers in my room will make me crack huh?'_ Tai snorted in annoyance.

'_Nice try, Daisuke.'_ Despite his thoughts, Tai couldn't help but let his eyes wander a bit.

"Hey! You make fun of my Spongebob boxers and yet you're wearing a pair with a green-haired fairy on them!" Tai pointed accusingly at Matt's right leg.

"His name is Cosmo. And he's a ton better than the sponge. Besides, they fit my personality," Matt replied rationally as he tugged a white T-shirt over his head.

"Eh?" A clueless look crossed Tai's face. Matt turned and faced his left leg towards the brunette.

"'I'm on fire, baby!'?" Tai read off of Matt's leg.

"Yep. That I am." Matt nodded and grinned.

'_Well, he's right about that.'_ Tai thought off-handedly as he searched for his own navy blue tank top. Finding it buried at the back of his closet, he shrugged it on and turned to the American boy.

"Let's go see what everybody else is doing," he said and grabbed Matt's arm, pulling him out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Matt wrestled his arm away from Tai and followed him into the den where the other three were sitting and looking through the collection of DVDs the Yagami-Motomiya siblings owned.

"What about this one?" Mimi asked, holding up a copy of The Princess Diaries.

"No way! If that doesn't scream chick flick then I don't know what does. This one?" Daisuke showed the two girls Pirates of the Caribbean.

"Seen it enough times that I've memorized it. What about this?" Kari pointed to Josie and the Pussycats.

"No way. That one has great music but it's so boring," Mimi retorted. The two older boys stood next to the stairs and shook their heads, observing the younger teens.

"We could watch this." Daisuke pulled out a copy of Anger Management.

"Lame!" the two girls yelled simultaneously.

"If we really wanted to we could watch this…" Kari showed them Finding Nemo.

"No. Way." Daisuke sounded out each syllable.

"How about Spiderman?" Mimi grabbed for the DVD.

"Nah, that one's dumb too. Shrek?" Kari poked at the box.

"How about," Tai interrupted them and headed their way, standing in front of the glass movie cabinet. "You let older brother decide," he finished his sentence and peered into the cabinet.

"Fine," Kari sighed in defeat. "Come on Mimi, let's go make some popcorn," she changed the subject and motioned for her friend to follow her. The two girls hopped up the four steps and headed for the kitchen.

"Oh, this one would be good." Tai smiled wickedly as he clutched The Exorcist in his hands.

"Awesome choice, Tai!" Daisuke nodded and flung himself onto the couch. Tai grinned again and placed the disc carefully into Daisuke's Playstation 2.

"Where's the remote, Dais?"

"I don't know. Why don't you just use the regular DVD player?"

"Because Mom said that Miko chewed up the wires."

"Well Miko's stupid. He's not even our cat, he's Kari's!"

"That's not the point. The point is that the DVD player is busted and if we don't find the remote to the Playstation, we can't watch anything," Tai argued.

"Well, I don't know where the remote is, damnit!" Daisuke shot back.

"Hey Dai, what's that right next to your elbow?" Matt asked, pointing at the small black object on the arm of the couch. Daisuke turned his head and gave the two older boys a sheepish grin.

"The remote," he replied, handing the black remote to his older brother. Tai snatched the remote from Daisuke's hand and swatted the back of his head.

"Idiot," Tai mumbled as he turned on the Playstation and began to fiddle with it, trying to make it work. Matt shook his head and dropped himself down into a big chair next to the couch. The two girls appeared at the stairs again, each carrying a big bowl of popcorn and three cans of Coke.

"What'd we decide on?" Mimi inquired as she swept a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"The Exorcist," Daisuke replied with a wide grin.

"Excellent!" Kari's face spread with an identical grin and placed the popcorn and soda on the coffee table in front of them, plopping herself down on the couch.

"You can't be serious," Mimi groaned as she nestled herself in between Kari and Daisuke. Matt gave Mimi a questioning look. "All three of them are obsessed with horror movies," she explained with an eye-roll as she reached for some popcorn. Matt nodded and turned his attention back to Tai who had finally gotten the Playstation 2 to work.

"Ta da!" He gave them a cheesy grin and waltzed across the room, allowing himself to fall into Matt's lap.

"Hey, move!" Matt demanded half-heartedly and pushed Tai to the side. The blond scooted over so that both boys could sit in the chair comfortably.

"Ready?" Tai asked the group.

"Just start the movie, knucklehead," Kari replied, chucking a piece of popcorn at her brother.

"Hey now, let's not have a replay of what happened at dinner." Tai caught the popcorn and hit the play button on the remote. Daisuke reached over and flicked the light switch off, plunging the group into total darkness, save for the light from the screen.

At first, the movie seemed pretty tame. The three dark-haired siblings were absolutely glued to the screen, even though they had seen the movie many times before. Matt himself had never seen it and was actually beginning to wonder what was so scary about it. He snuck a peek at the three younger kids on the couch. Kari wasn't paying attention to anything other than the movie and Daisuke was keeping one eye on Mimi and the other on the screen. Meanwhile, Mimi kept inching closer and closer to Daisuke as the scene begun to play out on the screen. Matt turned his eyes away and looked at Tai from the corner of his eye. The oldest brunet was watching the movie through half-lidded eyes, his head bobbing every now and then as he caught himself before he fell asleep. Matt smiled a bit and turned back to the TV.

The priests in the film raced up to Regan's room and burst in. She was lying on the bed thrashing violently. Slowly, she started to levitate. Matt bit his lower lip and inched closer to Tai subconsciously.

Weird noises started rising in volume from the screen as the priests began to pray. Their praying didn't do anything however because then Regan's head started spinning around 360 degrees. Mimi screamed and practically sat on Dais as she buried her face in his chest away from the screen. Daisuke, despite how scared Mimi was, allowed a goofy grin to cross his features. Matt was having his own battle trying not to look away from the screen. Kari remained motionless as she continued to watch the movie, while Tai nodded off once again.

The priests continued to pray and spray Regan with holy water as she began to vomit. Matt felt his own stomach lurch and tried to pry his vision from the screen. He looked over to Tai who had once again woken up. Matt heard the retching stop on the TV and gingerly turned his head back. The priests were back to praying and spraying holy water. Mimi's hand crept down towards Daisuke's and took a hold of his, squeezing his fingers gently to take her mind off of the movie. Daisuke in turn laced his fingers with Mimi and stared at the screen. Kari looked over to her brother and her best friend and took notice of their position.

"Oh please," she whispered under her breath and returned to the movie. The priests kept praying, but in the end, one of them went mad and jumped through the window, instantly killing himself. This was about the point in time that Matt jumped up and briskly walked out of the den.

"Dude, where are you going?" Tai finally woke all the way up and followed his friend.

"Bathroom," was the short, crisp reply. Tai said nothing and followed the other boy up the stairs and into his room.

"Bathroom huh?" Tai gave him a small smile.

"…so sue me, I hate movies like that."

"How can you hate horror movies?"

"I just do…besides you're the one who was falling asleep!"

"You just don't want to admit you were scared." Tai smirked and curled up on his bed. Matt jumped up onto Daisuke's bed and stretched out.

"Well, that's a freaky-ass movie! You can't tell me you weren't scared when you first saw it," Matt shot back as his features melted into a defined pout.

"Well actually no…I don't scare that easy."

"Jerk."

"Why thank you," Tai yawned and switched his focus onto his digital clock.

"Damn, it's already 11:30pm," he commented as he rubbed his eyes.

"Late…" Matt trailed off.

"Mm…hey…you wanna sleep in here t'nite? I doubt Dai would mind," Tai's words began to slur as his brain started to shut down for the night. Matt didn't mind how he said it though and was just grateful that he had even offered.

"Sure…too tired to walk across the hall anyway." Matt blinked and crawled into Daisuke's bed, pulling the covers up to his collarbone.

"Mmhmm," Tai replied as his eyes finally shut for the last time that night.

"Good night, Tai," Matt chuckled and reached over, tugging on the cord to the lamp and sending the boys into darkness.

* * *

It was still dark outside when Tai woke up. His first idea was to check what time it was. He propped himself up onto his elbows and glanced at the clock. 

"1:37am?" he hissed in a sleepy tone, rubbing his eyes to view the numbers more clearly. The numbers remained the same however. Now that that was taken care of, the second thing to do was figure out why he had woken up to begin with. He sat all the way up in his bed and stared at the wall, pondering the very reason that awoke him. A small whimpering sound intruded his musings suddenly. Tai turned his gaze towards the other bed in his room and spotted Matt.

'_How the hell did he get in? …Oh right…I said he could sleep in here.'_ Tai gave himself a mental slap for his short term memory and swung his feet over the edge of the bed, climbing out and walking over towards the blond boy. In the pale moon light, Tai could see the other's frightened expression, along with the gritted teeth and the knuckles that were slowly going white due to his grip on his covers. The whimper escaped from his throat again as he rolled over onto his other size, kicking at his sheets.

"Nightmare?" Tai wondered softly as he reached out for Matt's shoulder. He gently placed his hand on the shoulder and began to shake it back and forward.

"Matt…Matt…Matt, wake up," he whispered into the American boy's ear. Matt paid no attention however and rolled over again back so he was now facing Tai. Tai placed his other hand on Matt's other shoulder and shook harder.

"Matt, wake up. Snap out of it," he spoke louder and poked Matt's cheek. Matt groaned and swatted Tai's hand away as he curled up even tighter, whimpering still. Tai sighed and tightened his grip on Matt's arms.

"Damnit, Matt, wake up!" he finally shouted. Matt shot up instantly and examined his surroundings with wide eyes. He also managed to collide foreheads with Tai, who had been sitting a little too close for his own safety.

"Ouch," was all that came to Tai's mind at that moment. The other boy bit his lip and rubbed the tender spot on his head.

"Sorry, Tai," he apologized, letting his hand slowly drop down onto the bed.

"It's okay. Just try not to ever do it again, all right?" Tai replied as he met eyes with Matt. "Nightmare?" he repeated his thought from earlier. The blond stiffened at the word but nodded once. "Wanna talk about it?" Tai offered, stretching himself out at the foot of the bed.

"Let's just say this…Mimi and Kari were praying over you and your head began to spin like Regan's, only yours came completely off and Daisuke used it as a soccer ball. I was the goalie and I caught your head and you had the demon eyes…and now that I'm trying to explain it, I sound like a dumbass," Matt sighed, avoiding Tai's strong gaze.

"Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a nightmare…everybody has them." Tai shrugged and smiled in an attempt to cheer his friend up.

"Well, I know that. This is why I avoid horror films." Matt gave the other boy a pointed look.

"Well, if you had told me this earlier," Tai started to say but was cut off by a sniffling sound. He looked at Matt closely and saw one tear fall down his cheek.

"Oh come on now, don't cry…it was just a dream…it didn't really **mean** anything," Tai consoled the blond gently and wrapped his arms around his waist. Matt shook his head and looked at Tai once more.

"Dreams do mean stuff, Taichi, we just don't know what." Matt swallowed hard and blinked away his tears.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, what if it interprets that we shouldn't be friends?"

"Oh come on, you and I both know that's not what it means."

"You never know," Matt simply stated. Tai sighed and ran his fingers through the sunshine locks.

"Do you want us to stay friends?" he chose his words carefully.

"Yes," Matt replied instantly without any second thoughts.

"So do I. That's all we need to remember in order to stay friends…who cares if some 'dream' says we shouldn't be. We control our own lives remember?" Tai explained. Matt nodded and gave Tai a small grin.

"For once, you're absolutely right," he complimented the other.

"Than-Hey! What do you mean for once?" Tai gave him a mock look of insult.

"Oh, nothing," Matt teased the mud-eyed boy.

"If you weren't so freaked out, I'd pummel your ass right now," Tai threatened.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Matt fought back a yawn. Tai noticed the change in his voice and looked over at the clock again.

"Look, it's 2am. Let's just go back to sleep okay?" Tai voted and curled up beside Matt, pulling half of the covers over himself.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked, pulling the other half of the covers over his waist.

"Sleeping with you so you don't freak out again," Tai mumbled. Matt nodded and faced away from Tai, snuggling up into his chest.

"Thanks, Tai," he whispered and closed his eyes again.

"Don't mention it," Tai replied and draped an arm around Matt's waist. Both boys soon drifted off to sleep in the safety of each other's company, where they would remain like so until morning.

* * *

For the record, I don't own Simple Plan, Linkin Park, Nirvana, Three Days Grace, the Cosmo boxers, the Spongebob boxers, The Exorcist, Gameboy, or any of the other assorted crap in here. 

Thanks to: **LadyK Na-No-Da**, Sillie, **SnakeMistress**, Tenshi Kaprio, **Mrs. Passionate**, shadow-seraph, **nEo**, Savoan Locc, **Tsuki no Lomelinde**, Melissa-O, **onlyHAUNTED**, 123, **Kayanna**, Phunky Phish, **Raku Ozzarian princess**, Sen-Tay, **sakura blossoms4**, figaro, **LGF**, Copycat4, **lupusetcanis**, Kitsune, **Cay**, Heaven's Angel Chick, **Yaoi Obsessive**, Siyengo, **TerrierLee**, Redrum, **Kelset**, Keiran, **Aero-Grrl**, acern, **MOMOLA**, Sei Kou Ki, **GtaJake MK-II**, puppy-eyes58, **Ace-Pilot-Wolf X**, Yamachi Rainbow, and **KraziKrysti**.

You guys rock, seriously. Anyway, this chapter has been edited, just like the rest of them. So yeah, hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Game

_**Games are a compromise between intimacy and keeping intimacy away.**_

_**-Eric Berne**_

* * *

A quiet giggling sound was emitted from the outside of Taichi's room, causing the teenaged brunet to crack open one eye. He heard it, of course, but his brain was still slightly foggy so he thought nothing of it. He closed his eye again and snuggled down deeper into his pillow. 

Back out in the hallway, two girls stood next to the door, peering inside through the small crack provided.

"How do you think they got that way?" the one called Mimi whispered to the other.

"Who knows. I'd like to know why Matt is in Tai's room to begin with," the one named Kari whispered back.

"Who cares? This will most definitely make for good blackmail." Mimi nodded once. The girls looked at each other and identical evil grins crossed their features. Kari pushed herself away from the door and quietly dashed for the door of her own room. She stepped inside of the room and soon reappeared with her digital camera. She padded back over to the strawberry-blonde and prodded the door open slightly with her foot.

"Let's go." She proceeded to march into her brother's room, dragging Mimi along with her the entire way. The two girls tiptoed up to Tai's bed and marveled at the sight before them.

"No matter how it happened it's still kind of cute," Mimi commented, tilting her head to the side to view them from a different angle. Kari looked over her brother and his friend carefully. Tai was lying on his side with an arm draped around Matt's waist and his hand resting on the American's thigh. Matt, on the other hand, had most of his face buried into Tai's chest with his right hand grasping at Tai's shirt. Kari giggled and raised the camera to her eye.

"Good morning boys!" she announced as she pressed the button and sent a flash of light bouncing around the room. Tai's eyes flew open just in time to see his sister's, and in Mimi's case, slipper-covered feet flee the room.

"Hikari! Mimi! I might have to cause permanent harm to you!" he shouted after the two girls. He was interrupted by a quiet groan and a light kick to his shin.

"My god you're loud in the morning," a tired voice grumbled. Tai blinked and looked down beneath him, spotting a tuft of blond. The brunet froze and raised an eyebrow, contemplating how he had gotten himself into **this** one. After all, it wasn't everyday that you wake up practically on top of a gorgeous blond.

"…Um…what exactly happened last night?" he asked warily, shifting to the right so he wasn't quite on top of Matt.

"I had a nightmare, you decided that you were going to sleep with me, we woke up. Or more like, you woke up and decided to yell in my ear as a lovely morning wake-up call," Matt responded in a drowsy voice, blinking away the sleep in his eyes.

"Oh," Tai squeaked briefly.

"...anyway, why were you yelling to begin with?" Matt questioned while he propped himself on his elbows.

"Oh, Kari and Mimi." The other waved his hand vaguely. The blond nodded in understanding and sighed.

"The joys of being an only child," he mused.

"Haven't you said something like that before?" Tai quirked up his other eyebrow.

"Have I? Maybe...I can't quite recall," the other boy drawled out and pulled his elbows out from under him, lying on his side again.

"Are you seriously an only child?"

"Mmh, for the most part."

"Eh?"

"We-ell...hmm. My mother and father divorced right after my little brother was born, so I don't know if that really counts." Matt shrugged and closed his eyes again.

"Oh, it counts buddy." The door suddenly flew open again quick enough to bang against the wall and bounce back towards its closed position as Daisuke ran in, still clad in yellow pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt.

"Good morning brother of mine and friend of brother of mine!" the mahogany-haired boy bellowed and tackled Tai off of the bed, flying directly over Matt's head.

"What?" Tai shouted in retaliation as he landed flat on his back on the other side of the bed. Daisuke blinked innocently and sat on his brother's chest.

"Breakfast is ready," he replied with wide eyes and pointed out the door to the stairs.

"What is it?" Matt mumbled.

"Pancakes."

"Did Mom make them?" Tai raised an eyebrow.

"Nu-uh, Kar and Meems are and they taste **good**," Daisuke said enthusiastically.

"Rather good?"

"Rather good."

"…pancake breakfast!" Tai shot up from his position on the floor. Daisuke closed his eyes and shook his head.

"My gosh, you're stupid sometimes," he muttered and waltzed out of the room, bouncing down the stairs for his breakfast. Tai chose to ignore his brother and pounced back onto the bed where Matt was, who at this point had fallen asleep again. Tai rolled his eyes and lightly plucked a hair from the top of the blond's head.

"Tai!" Matt bolted up right away, giving his best friend an offended glare.

"Whoa there, let's not have a climax buddy." Tai winked and knelt in front of Matt.

"What have I told you about touching my hair?" the American spoke through gritted teeth.

"Do it long and often?" The brunet gave off a rather cheeky grin.

"I might have to shoot you," was the only comment given as the blue-eyed boy swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Aw, don't shoot me! A noose would do quite nicely."

"Shut up, Tai," Matt demanded through a yawn.

"Okay. Wanna head down for breakfast?" Tai offered, already halfway out of the room.

"Sure, whatever. But can I offer you some advice?"

"Sure."

"Put on some pants." Tai looked down and took notice that he was only wearing his boxers.

"Ah, that might help," he chuckled and backtracked towards his dresser.

"Where would you be without me?" Matt grinned and slipped a longer-sleeved shirt over his white t-shirt.

"Naked and stupid?"

"Sorry I asked."

* * *

The two boys ended that interesting conversation and headed down the stairs, following the scent of blueberry pancakes. They entered the kitchen and spotted the two girls standing at the stove, both frying up a batch of pancakes. 

"Morning boys, blueberry or chocolate chip?" Mimi glanced over her shoulder as she flipped a pancake out of the pan.

"Blueberry," Matt replied at the same moment Tai said, "Chocolate". Both boys blinked at one another and shook their heads.

"How can you eat sugar** this** early in the morning?" Matt complained as he slid into a chair by the window.

"How can **you** eat **healthy** stuff this early in the morning?" Tai retorted and dropped down in a chair closest to the kitchen.

"Tai, that didn't even make sense man," Daisuke commented around a mouthful of blueberry and chocolate chip pancake.

"Yeah? Well, blow me," he replied and stuck out his tongue.

"I'm sure Sora could help you with that," the younger boy shot back.

"I'm sure she could too," Tai agreed.

"Okay! Let's stop trash-talking my friend shall we?" Kari yelled loudly as she dropped a plate of pancakes in front of her brother.

"We could always go tell her all the things you're saying." Mimi brought over another plate of pancakes and sat next to Matt.

"Since, y'know, she lives down the street," Kari finished their threat.

"You tell her, I will scream bloody murder and hurt you immensely," Tai murmured and got up from the table, heading back into the kitchen and reaching up into a cabinet next to the oven. He returned to the table with a bottle of chocolate syrup and proceeded to drown his pancakes with it.

"My gosh, no wonder you're so hyper all the time." Matt's eyes widened.

"Oh shut up and eat." A bottle of maple syrup was tossed at the blond.

"Be nice, you guys," Mimi chided and cut one of her pancakes into tiny pieces.

"This is being nice!" both boys cried simultaneously.

"Then I'd hate to see your definition of mean," Kari snorted as she returned to the table with a knife.

"Okay, let's stop talking about the way mine and Matt's friendship is handled!" Tai interjected suddenly.

"Then what else is there to talk about?" Daisuke asked.

"Well...what about what we should do today? It's a nice day outside. We could go somewhere instead of remain cooped up in this house," Tai pointed out and shoved a whole pancake into his mouth.

"We can go to the movies?" Daisuke suggested.

"I think we're all pretty movied-out," Matt spoke quickly. "What about the mall?" he offered an alternative.

**"No."** Tai shook his head furiously. Kari rolled her eyes and grabbed the syrup from across the table.

"Well, Mimi and I saw that the ice rink opened yesterday. We can go skating," she shared her idea.

"Skating's fun. I vote for that!" Mimi raised her hand.

"We are **not** voting." Tai narrowed his eyebrows.

"Oh yes we are. I vote skating too!" Daisuke pounded his fist on the table, knocking the chocolate syrup over. Mimi giggled behind her hand and shook her head. Daisuke quickly stood the bottle back up and flashed her a wide grin.

"No, no, no. I say that the oldest gets to choose. And, the oldest would be me!" Tai proclaimed as he rose to toss his dishes in the sink.

"Are you sure about that?" Kari questioned.

"You dare question me? The Great Yagami Taichi?"

"Quite often."

Tai's face fell into a look of disbelief and shook his head. "Okay, fine. We'll do this the fair way. Mimi, when's your birthday?"

"May 21st, 1989."

"Kari?"

"September 24th, 1989."

"Daisuke?"

"Um...I forgot, hold on."

"Dais!"

"I mean, February 21st, 1991."

"And mine is August 22nd, 1988. So it's settled, I win."

"What about Matt?" Mimi asked, pointing at said boy who was still eating. Tai snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Matt's younger then me."

"You sure?" Kari raised a fine eyebrow.

"...Matt, when's your birthday?"

"July 17th, 1988." Matt smirked. Tai's jaw dropped and he raised an eyebrow.

"Since when?" he cried out.

"…July 17th, 1988. Duh." Matt rolled his eyes and walked back into the kitchen to rid himself of his plate.

"That's not fair!" Tai whimpered.

"Well, that means Matt gets to pick where we go today!" Kari spoke in a cheerful tone, trying to hide her laughter.

"Hmm…where should we go?" Matt returned to the table and put a finger to his chin in thought, contemplating his options.

"Anywhere but the ice-skating rink!" Tai hissed to his friend, eyes pleading for Matt to choose any option but that.

"Well. I think that we should…go to the skating rink." Matt nodded in reassurance to his choice.

"No!" Tai moaned.

"Yes!" the other four shouted back. Tai blinked once and stared at his friends and siblings.

"Wow…I feel outnumbered. Matt, you're a bastard." Tai narrowed his gaze and locked eyes with the blond.

"Oh, but I'm a hot bastard."

"Whatever."

"Don't lie, Tai. The sheets were wet this morning and I **know** it was from you dreaming about me." Tai froze for the second time that morning and stared at his friend in shock. Matt blinked a few times and laughed suddenly. "Tai, I'm totally kidding! Relax." Matt clapped the brunet on the shoulder.

"Right, I knew that." Tai shrugged his shoulders and played it off.

'_Thankfully you're joking, Ishida.'_ He thought grimly and forced a smile back onto his face.

"So I guess that means we're going to be going now?" He stood up and pushed his chair in.

"Sounds great! Let's get going!" the two girls exclaimed and bolted from their chairs and up the stairs. Tai watched them run to the second floor of the house and warily turned back to Matt, expression rather bleak.

"What have you done?" he screamed, eyes nearly popping from their sockets.

"Um…"

"Skating equals bad! Very bad!"

"Tai, just because you're special like that doesn't mean you have to ruin our fun," Daisuke cut in, getting up as well.

"Shut up!" Tai hollered at his half-brother who had darted up the stairs after the girls. Tai turned back to Matt and closed his eyes.

"That was a bad choice, Ishida. Very bad." He shook his head in remorse.

"Why?" Matt got up and headed for the stairs as well.

"You'll see. Just, never mind. Not important!" Tai pouted, marching up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door angrily.

"Stubborn-much." Matt sighed and closed the door to his own room.

* * *

So how far is the rink anyway?" Matt asked Kari who was currently leading the group down the street. 

"Just a few blocks down, it's a short walk," she replied with a self-satisfied.

"Fun."

"Mimi, isn't the scarf suppose to go on your neck, not in your hair?" Daisuke tilted his head to the side, watching the bright pink scarf swing back and forward as Mimi walked.

"Maybe but I don't want my neck to suffocate!" she protested.

"Your neck wouldn't suffocate." The cinnamon eyes blinked in surprise.

"Are you mocking me?" Mimi said slowly and glanced at the younger boy out of the corner of her eye.

"No, of course not!" Daisuke squeaked and scurried towards the back of the group by Matt and Tai.

"Daisuke I was just teasing, come back here!" Mimi reached backwards and took a hold of Daisuke's hand, yanking the younger boy forward once more.

"If you say so." Daisuke shook his head and said no more. It was at this point in time that Matt realized that he wasn't the only one not speaking. He craned his neck to look behind him and spotted Tai a few feet behind the rest of the group. The blond stopped in his tracks and waited patiently for the other boy to catch up to speed. Tai barely took notice of Matt and walked right past him, not really paying attention to where he was walking.

"Um, Tai?"

"Tai?"

"Tai you're going to run into-" Matt was cut off by the loud 'thunk!' of Tai walking into a telephone pole.

"That pole," the American finished his previous sentence and ran forward. Tai remained on his back in a daze, eyes crossing every now and then.

"Well...that was fun." He sat up slowly and stared at Matt.

"Are you okay?" the blue-eyed boy asked cautiously.

"Sure...it's not the first time!" Tai chirped and sprung to his feet. He flashed a grin and picked up pace. "Hurry up, Matt. We're going to lose them because you're slacking. Move it soldier!" he shouted and broke into a run.

"Are you sure you're **only** a schizophrenic?" Matt hollered back and raced after his friend. Tai laughed over his shoulder and continued running, leading Matt straight to the ice skating rink. The other three were already standing at the rental counter picking out skates to fit.

"Here, take 'em." Kari thrusted a pair of skates into Tai's chest.

"What size?"

"Ten."

"...How do you know my feet haven't grown since I've been away?"

"Have they?"

"No."

"Then don't worry about it."

"What if I want to worry about it?"

"Then you're just dumb." Kari rolled her eyes and walked away from the rental counter with Mimi.

"Meet ya on the ice!" Mimi yelled and waved back at the boys.

"If you're lucky!" Daisuke called back. Mimi winked and turned her head forward, walking into the dome where the rink was. Tai smirked at his brother and threw an arm over Daisuke's shoulder.

"Aw, Dais, such a young Casanova!" he sighed and shot the younger boy a teasing grin.

"Dai? Casanova? Try casa-in-training and **maybe** it would be closer," Matt replied.

"Size?" the man behind the counter asked the blond.

"Eight please." He placed a few coins on the countertop.

"Dude, you have small feet," Tai commented and lifted one of the skates into his hand.

"They're only two sizes smaller then yours," Matt scoffed and swiped the skate back. He slung them over his shoulder and turned on his heel. "I'm going; you're welcome to join me if you stop being a dumbass." He nodded once and began to walk into the rink dome.

"Matt, wait for me!" Tai shook his head and jogged after the other boy, Daisuke not too far behind.

"Hey guys, what's a Casanova?" the mahogany-haired boy questioned as he played with the zipper on his jacket. Both older boys glanced at one another and snickered slightly.

"Well?" Daisuke persisted.

"Flirt."

"Sex-master."

"What!"

"Uh..."

"Tai, you're dumb. He's too young to have sex."

"I had sex when I was his age!"

"No you didn't!"

"Daisuke, shush."

"You're so weird, Tai, I swear!"

"I swear too! Have you **not** heard me cuss out people at the school?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Would one of you answer how I'm a Casanova!"

"Because you keep flirting."

"Who's flirting with whom?" Kari interrupted the circle of argument. The three boys blinked and took in their surroundings.

"When did we get inside?" Tai scratched the back of his neck.

"I have no clue." Matt blinked and looked around the inside of the dome. Lights were bouncing off the walls in small circles of different colors. There were benches spread out on the outside of the rink piled high with people's coats, shoes, and backpacks. Along the back wall of the dome were a few stands selling edibles such as popcorn, chili, pretzels and hot chocolate.

"It's packed today," Daisuke stated the obvious.

"We noticed," Tai spoke dryly.

"We saved us a spot though." Mimi popped up from behind Kari, tugging her gloves onto her delicate hands.

"Where?"

"Come on." Mimi and Kari led the boys to the far edge of the rink close to the food. Kari's yellow backpack sat on the bench horizontally so that it took up more room and the girls' large coats were on either side of it.

"Aren't you guys worried your stuff will be stolen or lost?" Matt said, looking around suspiciously.

"Nah, people are generally good at keeping what's theirs theirs." Kari waved her hand in a vague fashion and sat on the bench to tie her skates up. Mimi dropped Kari's bag onto the cement floor and copied her friend's actions. Both girls got laced up and shakily stood up.

"Are we ready to roll?" Mimi smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Mimi! Wait for me," Daisuke whined as he fought to untangle the large knot in his laces. Mimi giggled and sat back on the bench next to Daisuke, taking the skates from his hands.

"See, you can't tug on the entire knot. You have to find one spot where the knot isn't as tight so that you can begin unraveling it," she explained as she pulled one string away from the knot. Nimble fingers flew as they worked to untangle the shoe strings. Within three minutes, she placed one skate in each of Daisuke's awaiting hands. "Now hurry up and get laced." Honey-brown eyes sparkled and watched the boy quickly kick his boots off and slip the skates on.

"Okay, let's go!" He jumped up.

"Dai?"

"Huh?"

"You might want to tie your skates up before you trip on the laces." She suppressed more laughter.

"I suppose, but they don't like me." The boy poked at the offending strings. Mimi smiled and knelt down, tightly tying the skates.

"There you go!" She stood up to full-height and snapped a bubble from her gum.

"Thanks Meems." Daisuke blinked and looked at his skates.

"No biggie, let's go!" she replied and yanked him to his feet, dragging him towards the ice.

"Come find us when you're ready!" he yelped back to the older boys, who were still standing by the bench. Matt blinked once in surprise and they were gone, along with Kari. He shrugged his shoulders and sat down to put on his skates.

"How sad," Tai broke the quiet between them.

"What?"

"They aren't even dating and she's got him whipped," Tai chuckled.

"Whatever." Matt rolled his eyes and stood up, wobbling out to the ice. He soon noticed that his companion wasn't following him and turned back, spotting the brunet still sitting on the bench.

"Are you coming?" Matt motioned to the ice.

"I'll meet you out there…I need to use the bathroom real fast," the mud-eyed boy blurted out and jumped to his feet, weaving through the crowd towards the food stands. Matt stared after him, rolling his eyes and turning towards the ice rink.

"Okay Tai, you're weird," he sighed and stepped onto the ice, gliding over to the other side where his three friends were.

"About time you got out here," Kari commented as she skated in a small figure eight before him.

"Yeah well, blame your brother I suppose."

"Why?" Daisuke questioned as he circled around Mimi and his sister.

"He was stalling to come onto the ice." The other three exchanged glances at these words, glances that didn't go unnoticed by the American.

"What…?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, as you may have noticed, Tai has to be in control," Mimi began.

"Otherwise he will whine, cry, and throw a fit until we all give in to him," Kari added.

"I wouldn't go that far," Daisuke defended the oldest Yagami-Motamiya sibling.

"Kay maybe not, but he still wants to be in control so people look up to him," the middle child corrected herself.

"Tai likes having people's respect." Mimi nodded in agreement.

"…what does any of this have to do with why he was stalling?" Matt spoke with an impatient tone and leaned against the fence of the rink.

"In short, Tai doesn't know how to ice skate." Daisuke smirked slightly. Matt looked behind him and saw Tai walking back from the food stands and sitting on the bench once more.

"What do you mean he doesn't know how? It's not that difficult! Anybody can ice skate!" Matt exclaimed as he faced the others again.

"Well, he knows how to," Mimi replied.

"It's just the fact that he's not very good at it," Kari finished up.

"That's rather…odd." Matt shook his head and turned all the way around. He placed one foot in front of him and started to skate off, heading to the other side.

"Where are you going?" Mimi shouted after him.

"He's getting on the ice whether he likes it or not!" the blond yelled back, skating at a faster pace to get to Tai. He reached the exit in record time and clambered off of the ice, making his way over to the rather bored looking bruneton the bench.

"Hey there!" Matt chirped and sat next to him.

"Hi," Tai replied, staring out at the ice. Matt followed his best friend's gaze and was greeted with the sight of his three younger friends playing a game of crack-the-whip.

"Want to go join them?" he offered. Tai shook his head and gave Matt a rather weak smile.

"Nah, that's okay. I don't really feel like skating today." He shrugged and looked at his feet. Matt frowned slightly and rested his elbows on his knees with his head in his palms.

"I assume that you don't want to go skating tomorrow either. Or the next day. Or even the day after that," he approached the subject slowly.

"Hmm, who knows?"

"Tai, I know what's going on. It's all right that you can't skate."

Tai's head shot up and his eyes narrowed slightly. "I can skate!"

"Not very well, apparently," Matt countered, watching the glare fade from Tai's features.

"…So? Skating's stupid." His frown grew deeper, almost forming into a pout.

"No it's not. I think it's kind of fun myself."

"That's because you can skate."

"You can too, remember?"

"Not well enough," Tai sighed, admitting defeat. "Besides, skating takes grace. Something that, to be blunt, you have and I don't."

"I have grace?"

"Matt, you're more feminine than you realize."

"I am not feminine!" the blue-eyed boy shrieked.

"You just proved my point."

Matt glared at the other boy. "Okay, so are you saying that you have to have grace to skate well?"

"Pretty much." Tai nodded. Matt shook his head and averted his gaze back to the ice, locking it on the other three teens. Daisuke was skating circles around Mimi, obviously taunting the young girl, while she stood there and yelled at him about something. He stuck his tongue out at her and started to glide away, but suddenly tripped over the front of his skate and fell flat on his stomach, skidding to a halt. Mimi laughed at her sudden victory and placed her skate gently on top of Daisuke's back, pinning him down.

"Have you ever told Dai that?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm." Matt clenched his fists together and stood up, towering over Tai.

"Put your skates on," he demanded. It was Tai's turn to raise his eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Put your skates on. Now," Matt ordered again, folding his arms over his chest. Tai gave him a confused look but did as he was told.

"Okay…"

"You are going to go skating if it's the last thing we do." Matt nodded to himself and grabbed Tai by the wrist, proceeding to pull him off the bench and out towards the ice.

"Matt, no. No! I don't skate! Let go!" the brunet screamed in protest. Matt stopped tugging on his wrist and stared at him in surprise.

"Jeeze, you are worse than a two-year-old being led through the mall. Get over it!"

"No!"

"Tai?"

"What?"

"You're on the ice." Tai looked down and gasped, feet immediately starting to slip from under him. He grabbed onto Matt's upper arm and struggled to stand up. Matt chuckled softly and held Tai up until the boy was stable enough to stand on his own.

"I **really** don't like ice," he admitted as he loosened the death-grip on Matt's arm.

"Couldn't tell." Blue eyes twinkled in amusement.

"Ass."

"Possibly."

"Hey, you got him out here!" Daisuke cheered as he, Kari, and Mimi skated up around the duo.

"Yup. Almost fell on his face like you did, but he's out here." Daisuke's cheeks turned a light pink once he realized that his slip-up had not gone unnoticed.

"How does it feel to be back on your feet, Tai?" Kari asked, twirling in little circles.

"Shaky. Very shaky," he replied in a nervous tone, knees wobbling every now and then.

"You'll be fine. Let's start with something easy," Matt suggested.

"Such as?" Mimi spoke up, quite curious at what had developed under the mass of gold hair.

"Well, how about writing our names in the ice? That seems simple enough." He grinned and pulled Tai's hand away from his arm.

"Matt, don't leave me! I'll fall over!" Tai squeaked as he reached out to grab onto Matt once more. Matt dodged the flying hand and stood in front of Tai a few feet.

"Tai, you can't fall over if you jus stand perfectly still until it's your turn to write your name. Just remember that," he reassured the obviously petrified boy and skated over to a clean patch of ice. He stood in a straight line and began to carve his name.

"M." He stopped every now and then to change the direction of his lines.

"A." The 'a' was a little harder to skate just because of the way it was shaped.

"T." Two lines. Simple enough.

"T." Again, two lines. Matt skated over to the rest of his friends and looked back to admire his work.

"Not too bad. Who's next?" he asked.

"Me!" Kari slid over to Matt's name and stood above it.

"K." She skated above the 'm' in Matt's name, forming a straight 'k'.

"A." Her 'a' turned out slightly better then Matt's.

"R." The 'r' was hard to write in skate, basically because one's foot cannot turn that way. So she had to resort to carve a square and then adding two lines onto it.

"I." Three smooth lines. She came barreling back towards the group and beamed at her name.

"Next contestant!" she giggled and looked at the remaining three.

"I'll go." Mimi skated forward and stopped under Matt's carving.

"M." Now for Mimi, ice skating was something she was naturally good at. She could do all sorts of fancy tricks and showy things, including writing her name in cursive.

"I." Little curvy 'i' was formed and connected to the 'm'.

"M." Another 'm', smaller then the first, was carved and attached to the previous 'i'.

"I." The last letter was formed, just as loopy and curvy as the first three. With a satisfied grin, she practically leapt over to the group and studied her work.

"I suppose it could have been better, but I like it!" She smiled and turned to Daisuke. "Are you going to go next?"

"Oh, yeah sure." Daisuke nodded and sped away, coming rather close to skating right over the top of Mimi's name. He managed to stop himself just in time and stood still, thinking something over.

"Wait a minute! My name has seven letters in it!" Daisuke protested.

"Shorten it then!" Kari rolled her eyes at her younger brother's naïve qualities. The mahogany-hair boy nodded in agreement and began to spell.

"D." The 'd' turned out to be a rectangle with slanted corners.

"A." The letter 'a' seemed to be the hardest for the group to carve.

"I." Which would make the letter 'i' the easiest.

"S." Now, Daisuke wasn't as good at this as his sister and her friend. So in the end, his 's' looked like a backwards 'z'. He didn't seem to notice this until he reached the beginning point with the rest of them.

"That is a **very **screwy s," he commented and stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"Aw, you tried. That's all that counts, right?" Mimi ruffled his hair.

"I suppose." All eyes locked onto Tai, who was still standing perfectly still.

"You have **got** to be kidding me!" he said exasperatedly.

"Come on, you'll be fine." Matt nudged him forward, causing him to stumble and nearly lose balance. Tai gave his best friend one last pitiful look and gingerly skated forward, stopping on the side of Matt's name. He took in a deep breath and swallowed.

"T..." He started to skate forward carefully. However, carefully wasn't good enough and he soon slipped, landing on his back with a rather loud 'thud'. Matt jumped in alarm and quickly rushed to Tai's side, staring down into his face.

"Are you okay?"

"…this is why Tai does not ice skate," the other boy replied, opening his eyes to look at Matt. Matt smiled and held his hand down, allowing Tai to quickly latch onto it and pull himself back up.

"Maybe we should just go home," the blond suggested. In response, Tai shook his head furiously and stared at the partial line he had created.

"No. Not until I finish my name." The determined boy focused on the line.

"That might be a while," Daisuke said under his breath.

"I heard that!"

"Can you finish it by yourself?" Matt asked, bringing Tai's attention back to the task at hand.

"I don't know…probably not." A sheepish smile crossed the olive-skinned boy's features. Matt shook his head and laughed lightly.

"All right, I **suppose **I could help you. Hold onto my arm and we'll skate together to finish your name, 'kay?" Tai nodded enthusiastically and grabbed Matt's shoulder, waiting for the other to guide him.

"Okay, let's finish up this T," he instructed and led Tai in a straight horizontal line, completing the first letter.

"A." Matt's hands slid down to Tai's ribs to control which way the boy was going to turn, creating a straight and solid 'a'.

"Can I try the 'i' by myself?" Tai asked softly, releasing his firm grasp on Matt's arm.

"Sure." Matt let go of his friend and skated back to the group. Tai set his face and bit his lip, ready to prove to the world that he could skate perfectly fine.

"I." One vertical line. Two horizontal lines. Zero slip-ups. Tai grinned widely in pride and skated back to the group in a sloppy manner.

"Look!" He pointed at his name.

"Well, guess you can teach an old dog new tricks." Kari and Mimi giggled at the goofy look that had been painted onto Tai's face.

"Hey! Who are you calling a dog?"

"You. Duh." Mimi stuck out a playful tongue.

"Well, now that **that's** over with, I think we should just go home. It's about time for dinner after all." Matt looked at his silver watch.

"Where did all that time go?" Daisuke blinked as he looked over Matt's shoulder at the watch.

"Well, you three didn't wake up until about 12:30 this afternoon," Kari started off.

"Breakfast took about an hour to make, eat, and clean up," Mimi continued, skating back and forward in an idle fashion.

"Another half an hour to shower and get dressed."

"Fifteen minutes to walk here."

"And we spent three hours here, what between renting skates, fighting the shoelaces, fooling around, and teaching Tai how to stay on his feet," Kari finished up, beaming at her brothers and Matt. Mimi nodded in agreement and smiled as well.

"Well then. That's great to know. We pretty much wasted our day being on ice," Matt snickered and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Whatever. Let's just go home okay? I am starving!" Daisuke announced and started to skate towards the other side.

"Sounds good to me!" Mimi chased after the younger boy. Kari just sighed and followed her best friend. Matt turned to leave as well when he noticed that, once again, Tai wasn't following him.

"Are you coming?" he asked his friend. A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over him. He shook his head and stared into Tai's eyes.

"Yeah, in a minute. Now that I've sort of got a sense how to skate, I want to do it some more. I'll be right there." Tai waved a hand casually. Matt shrugged and turned around again, skating off and joining the other three on the bench. Tai looked back to make sure none of them were watching him. He stared at the two names carved in the ice, side-by-side. With that, he began to skate very carefully. One horizontal line, with a vertical line straight down the middle of it.

"Matt plus Tai," he whispered to himself and skated off to join the others, leaving those markings to rest on the ice.

* * *

Upon entering the house, the five children were greeted by silence. 

"Where is everybody?" Tai questioned as he flipped on the lights.

"Well, everybody being Michael and Mom, I don't know," Kari replied and threw her bag down by the front hall closet.

"Mom and Dad went out to dinner and they left money for pizza," Daisuke informed his siblings.

"Pizza sounds good…" Mimi sighed happily and threw her coat on a nearby chair.

"So, let's order already," Matt cut in.

"Already did. Two large pizzas, one pepperoni, one Italian."

"What's Italian, Dais?"

"Sausage and pepperoni."

"Why didn't you order something without pepperoni then?"

"I happen to like pepperoni, Tai. Deal with it!"

"You know that I like Hawaiian."

"Eww, Kari, pineapple on pizza isn't that good."

"Have you ever tried it?"

"Yes and it was disgusting."

"Mimi, you find a lot of things disgusting."

"Shut up, Tai!" The five teens' squabbling was interrupted by the doorbell. Daisuke broke away and ran to answer it, a few notes in his hand.

"Thanks, keep the change," he told the delivery boy and slammed the door shut, marching back into the kitchen with pizza.

"Okay, now that we have food, what else should we do?" Tai asked as he swiped a slice of pepperoni from the box.

"What do you mean?" Matt replied with a question.

"Well, you don't just eat. You multitask."

"Why?"

"Because just eating is boring. Now what should we do?"

"Ooh, I have an idea!" Mimi waved her hand around in the air, trying to get Tai's attention.

"What is it?"

"Truth or Dare."

"…sounds great. All in favor say I."

"I," All five voices sounded off. Tai grinned and picked up the pizza boxes.

"Then I think we should move this game to the den. Kari, you grab some soda and Mimi, the box is upstairs in Kari's closet," he directed everybody. The two girls went their separate directions while Daisuke and Matt grabbed napkins and plates. Everybody gathered in the den and sat on either the couch or the floor, waiting for somebody to make the first move.

"Now, since Matt is the only one who doesn't know how we play this game, we'll review the rules," Mimi began, setting a shoebox on top of the coffee table.

"If you ask a person and they pick truth, you pick a card from the shoebox and ask them the question that's written on it," Kari explained, biting into a slice of Italian.

"However, if they choose dare, it's all fair game," Daisuke added.

"**Mostly **fair game, that is. Nothing like having sex. Keep it only at PG-13." Tai glared at his brother.

"Tai, man, you take the fun out of everything." Matt shook his head with an amused grin.

"That's because he's a fun-sucker." Daisuke stuck his tongue out.

"I am not."

"Fun-sucker!"

"Argh!"

"Shut up guys and let's just play, all right?" Kari broke up the fighting between her brothers.

"Fair. Kari, truth or dare?" Tai faced his sister.

"How did I know you were going to ask me?" she snorted and took a sip of her Sprite.

"Just pick!"

"Truth."

"Goodie." Tai's hand dove into the box and felt around, searching for one card. He plucked it out and read it, smile growing wider by the minute.

"Okay, Kar, what's the furthest you and your boyfriend, who's name I don't know since I only became aware that you had a boyfriend a few days ago, have gone?" His Cheshire-cat grin spread even further.

"Sex last week before you got home," she replied without blinking an eye.

"Say wha!"

"Kidding. But no, for real, just kissed okay?"

"Promise?" Daisuke cut in.

"Yes!"

"Chill, Hika, they're just curious since they haven't been around much." Mimi winked and poked Kari in the arm. The brunette girl swatted Mimi's hand away and grinned suddenly.

"Well, since you're so keen on defending them…Mimi, truth or dare?" She grinned.

"Truth," the honey-eyed girl said without hesitation. Kari reached in and pulled out the first card her fingers wrapped around, reading it slowly.

"Well Ms. Tachikawa, it says I can choose any question I want. So…what do you think of Daisuke?" she blurted out, throwing the card carelessly over her shoulder. Mimi blinked and tilted her head to the side.

"Well…I do like being around him. He's very…sweet and just kind of adorable. And I'd probably be dating him if he wasn't so young." She shrugged.

"Young!"

"Dais, there's like a year and a half difference."

"And?"

"I just…I don't know. It'd feel too odd. Like being a pedophile."

"Girls can't be pedophiles, can they?" Kari questioned.

"Kari, you're 14, you should know better. Anybody can be a pedophile," Mimi replied airily. Matt raised an eyebrow and jerked his head towards Kari.

"You're 14?"

"Yes. Why?"

"You look…younger."

"Gee, thanks."

"Can we get back on the subject of me and Mimi please?" Daisuke shouted, waving a hand in between Matt and Kari.

"What's there left to discuss?" Mimi's eyes bore into pools of cinnamon. Daisuke looked back into hers, his eyes holding a strange mixture of confusion and hurt.

"Why don't you want me?" he spoke quietly, a tone not heard often from the boy.

"Daisuke, you're just too young. That's all. It wouldn't be-"

"Right? Whatever," he snorted.

"…look, Daisuke, it's not that I don't love you-"

"Then why are you protesting this? Why can't we just be together?" Silence fell upon the room. Blue eyes shifted to meet brown, both pairs filled with concern for the younger.

"What do you want me to do, Dais? Date you for a trial run?"

"Yes," was the answer whispered, blinking back tears that had appeared from nowhere. Mimi swallowed and folded her arms over her chest.

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" Daisuke nodded and averted his eyes. The strawberry-blonde licked her dry lips and nodded once.

"I agree to a trial."

"Fine…" Daisuke sulked. Mimi smiled softly and brushed a gentle kiss on the tan cheek.

"Now that we figured things out…Taichi, truth or dare?"

"Why do you call me by my whole name?"

"Just pick, gosh." Tai's eyes lit up and a smirk played on his lips.

"Dare me, Beautiful." His smirk grew wider. Mimi and Kari shared identical glances and stood up.

"We'll be right back." Kari waved and ran out of the den with Mimi hot on her heels. The three boys shrugged and stared at one another.

"So, Daisuke's got a girlfriend," Tai broke the silence, as usual. Daisuke sniffed and shook his head.

"It's a trial, remember?"

"In other words?" Matt questioned.

"In other words, it doesn't mean anything." Daisuke swiped at his eyes, evidently not wishing to be seen in this state. The reaction itself made the blond boy uneasy. After all, he had never seen Daisuke in any other mood than happy. Wait, correction. He had seen him somber the day Tai fell into a fit. Sudden thoughts changed the direction of his train of thought and blue eyes shifted over to his partner-in-crime, who in turn had sympathetic eyes trained on his brother.

"You're no Casanova."

"So I've noticed," Daisuke replied bitterly.

"You're a true Romeo. Willing to do anything to be with the one you love."

"Damn straight." The younger boy nodded firmly. Tai tilted his head slightly and cast a soft smile.

"That's the best way to go." He nodded as well and ended the conversation, just as the girls came back into the room.

"Well Tai, we have the **perfect** dare for you," Kari giggled and stood by the stairs.

"Really now. Go for it."

"Tai, I dare you to…go down the street to the tattoo parlor and pierce your bellybutton!" Mimi looked proud of herself and her genius dare.

"Fine." Tai shrugged and stood up, not bothering to put on proper shoes.

"You're not really going to get it pierced are you?" Daisuke asked, standing up as well. Tai didn't reply as he ran up the four stairs and headed out the front door, the other four following closely.

"I do** not** believe you're going to get it pierced!" Matt exclaimed.

* * *

"I can not believe you got it pierced," Matt moaned. 

"Well, it's the game. You can't back down from a dare!" Tai gave the other a cheesy smile, admiring the silver navel ring he now wore.

"Mom will shoot you if she ever finds out," Kari attempted to stay serious, but found it rather hard to be since Tai had rolled his shirt up to his ribs.

"This is why she won't find out." Tai's eyes twinkled with mischief. He turned to Matt and bore that same wide smile.

"Truth or Dare, Blondie?"

"Well, you're not the only badass here. Dare!"

"Oh, you are going to regret that, I swear on it. I have the perfect dare."

"…"

"I dare you to dye part of your hair black."

"No! No, no, no!"

"You said dare man. It's your own fault." The group walked back into the house, the three younger teens watching the older ones.

"How much of it…"

"Just a bunch of chunks."

"Tai…" Matt whimpered.

"Be glad I didn't say all of your hair. Now come. We shall dye it black."

"No!"

"It'll all be over soon, Matt." Mimi took a hold of his right arm.

"Just try to be calm." Kari grabbed his left arm. The two girls dragged the protesting American to the kitchen where Daisuke stood waiting with a box of black hair dye and Tai with a bottle of shampoo.

"Would you like a blindfold?" Tai offered.

"I hate you," Matt said once more, tying the blindfold tightly over his eyes.

* * *

"Good morning Matt!" Tai's voice sang, bouncing on the bed. Matt groaned and opened his eyes. 

"Did I fall asleep?" he spoke with a groggy voice.

"No actually, you passed out once you looked at your hair." Tai grinned. Matt's eyes widened and he ran into the bathroom, screeching to a halt in front of the mirror and staring. His once perfect blond hair now had large chunks and patches of black thrown in everywhere. He opened his mouth once, twice, and then screamed with all of his lung power. He stormed out of the bathroom and flung himself on his bed, pulling the pillow over his head.

"Oh come on, it's not **that** bad." Tai crawled closer to Matt's head.

"Bite me! This is all your fault, you stupid idiot!" Matt shouted, although it was a tad muffled from the pillow.

"You chose dare.

"Don't care."

"That rhymed."

"Shut up."

"Aw, Matt come out from under there. I think it makes you look sexy."

"You're stupid!"

"Well it does."

"God shut up." Matt pulled his head out from under the pillow.

"You don't want me calling you sexy?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"…because you're a guy? And you're my best friend?" Tai looked a bit taken aback by Matt's wording but let it slide.

"Whatever, let's go downstairs. Mimi's leaving soon."

"Where to?" Matt swung his legs over the side and stood up again, following Tai down the stairs.

"She's just going home to be with her family. It's Christmas Eve after all."

"…wow, it is!" Blue eyes blinked rapidly at the realization.

"Yet, you complain how slow I am."

"Stop picking on me!"

"Stop whining and say a proper goodbye," Mimi interrupted them. Matt and Tai both grinned and hugged Mimi tightly.

"Have a good Christmas, Meems." Tai let go first.

"I will. You guys have a nice holiday too."

"Will we be seeing more of you during the winter break?" Matt questioned, unsure of whether to hold onto her or let go.

"Of course, goofball. I don't live too far from here." Mimi winked and tapped Matt on the nose. Matt wrinkled his nose in response and flicked Mimi in the ear.

"Good, you better come back."

"Oh, I will. After all, I have a week-long boyfriend living in this house," she replied, draping an arm over Daisuke's shoulders. Daisuke didn't respond in any way, merely looking at Mimi. The girl sighed and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Let's not be upset during the holidays okay?" she said quietly, taking his hands into her own.

"…fine." He shrugged.

"Please?"

"Yes." Daisuke nodded and leaned forward, shyly planting a chaste kiss on the soft pink lips.

"That's better." She smiled again; this time, with the boy returning it.

"Where's Kari at?" Tai asked, checking the foyer for any sign of his sister.

"She's been on the phone for about half an hour, with TK."

"Who's TK?"

"…I gotta go, see you guys later!" Mimi spoke quickly and practically ran out the door, jumping into the car that had just pulled into the driveway.

"I'm going to assume TK is Kari's boyfriend." Daisuke shrugged.

"Yep." Tai nodded. Suddenly, Kari came thundering down the stairs with the cordless phone in hand, clad in a pair of Tai's old boxers and an orange tank top.

"Where's Mom?" she panted, leaning on the railing to catch her breath.

"Good morning to you too," Tai huffed.

"Tai. I'm serious!"

"Living room," Daisuke replied instead. She raced past the three boys and into the living room, not bothering with thanks. The three stunned teens stared wide-eyed after the human tornado and walked after her.

"And his parents are fighting again and he doesn't want to stay there, so his mom said that he could leave since she was thinking about going back to work for the holidays. But he doesn't have anywhere to go for a few days so can he just come early?" They caught the tail-end of Kari's ranting, standing in the doorframe.

"I don't see why not. It won't make too much of a difference," Ami pointed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Kari threw her arms around Ami's neck and returned to the phone.

"She said yes. Okay, see you then. Bye." She hung up the phone and walked out of the living room, passing by the boys once more. She suddenly stopped and looked at Matt, grinning slightly.

"Love the hair, Matt," she teased him and darted up the stairs.

"Argh!" Matt growled, pulling at fistfuls of his patchy mop.

"Matt, what on Earth did you do to your hair?" Ami asked, finally taking notice of the additional black.

"I chose dare," he grumbled. Ami laughed quietly and rubbed his shoulder.

"Oh, sweetie, it doesn't look too bad. As long as you used the stuff that washes out after a good number of shampoos," she said to him. He glanced at Tai quickly, eyes silently pleading that this was the case.

"Well, if I wanted to, I could be mean and say no, but I won't." Tai smirked.

"It'll take about 15 washes to get it all out, Matt," Daisuke gave out the information Matt wanted while hitting his brother in the back.

"What was that for?"

"You're being a dick."

"Am not!" Kari re-entered the room, now dressed in a black t-shirt and bright pink pants with hair hanging down to just above her shoulders. She gave her brothers a stern look and pointed at two chairs, indicating that they sit.

"Now, TK will be here very soon, so we'll lay down some rules now," she began.

"Kari…" Ami warned her lightly.

"It's nothing bad, Mom, promise," she reassured the older woman. She returned her gaze to the two brothers in the chairs, eyes filled with curiosity on Daisuke's part and amusement on Tai's.

"So, first of all, no beating him up," she directed to Tai, eyes narrowing a bit.

"I'm not **that** over-protective, am I?"

"Yes. Secondly, no interrogating him to kingdom come," she spoke towards Daisuke. Matt couldn't help but snicker. It was just an amusing sight to see a petite little girl demanding things from two boys who were more rambunctious than a pack of rotweilers.

"Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" The doorbell rang, echoing throughout the large house.

"Good." She nodded once and dashed out to the foyer once more. The two brothers gave each other one look and soon sprinted after her. Matt merely sighed and followed behind. Kari opened the door quickly, revealing a blond boy with bright blue eyes, much alike to Matt's own. The boy had a large backpack with him and a strange white bucket hat on his head, a tad too large for him it appeared, for it kept slipping over his eyes. Kari stepped aside and let the boy come inside, taking his coat and bag from him. She was practically bursting with excitement as she turned to her brothers and Matt.

"Guys, this is TK. TK, this is Tai, Daisuke, and Matt," she introduced them and pointed out each of them.

"Nice to meet you." TK smiled, bowing his head slightly in respect.

"Likewise." Tai nodded.

"He doesn't seem too bad, Tai," Daisuke whispered loudly, tilting his head forward to get a closer look. Kari's face fell into a look that clearly said 'what did I do to deserve this?' and Tai bopped the younger on the head.

"Idiot." Tai withdrew his fist. Matt blinked and also peered at TK closer.

"You seem familiar…have we met?" he asked carefully, choosing his words just right. TK turned to Matt and his grin widened, laughing slightly despite himself.

"Have we met, Matt, you're such a kidder! Of course we've met!"

"…"

"Don't you recognize me? I'm your long-lost brother!"

* * *

Just about 31 pages all together, folks. So yeah, hope you liked it. 

Thanks to: **Sei Kou Ki**, DarkMetalAngel of Destruction, **SnakeMistress**, Lil Gold Fishie, **Death Phoenix**, shadow-seraph, **KitsuneAkai13**, KraziKrysti, **inu400**, **DawnAurilain**, Puppeh, **the author, faye**, hipa, **nEo-cHaN**, Squrlie Jack, **Aero-Grrl**, DSC, **sakura blossoms4**, babymar-mar, **Bosabe**, Mistress of Weird, **LadyK Na-No-Da**, Burning Angemon, **a swedish dish**, Kelset, **kalizuta**, Gondawara Saburota, **Angel Spirit**, Du S'undavar Freohr n' Zar'roc, **Tammy**, and Shakia.

Again, it's edited, so yeah, woot.


	8. Family

_**Having a family is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain.**_

_**-Martin Mull**_

* * *

"…excuse me?" Matt blinked once, not quite sure if he had heard correctly. However, instead of answering the boy in words, the younger blond started to chuckle to himself. This chuckle soon turned into a full-blown laugh, causing Matt to jump in surprise. Kari gave a quick glance at her boyfriend before breaking down into peals of laughter herself. Matt looked back at Daisuke and Tai questioningly, only to be rewarded with shrugs and their own questioning looks. Tai placed one hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow. 

"Um, what exactly is so funny?" he asked slowly, tilting his head to the side.

"Matt's expression!" Kari choked out through giggles.

"What's wrong with my expression?" Matt hurriedly side-glanced at the mirror hanging on his left.

"Nothing, it was just….oh wow! Dude, I was just kidding," TK said, struggling to control his own laughter. Matt blinked once, looked at Kari, blinked again, and shook his head.

"That was not **even** cool," the older blue-eyed boy declared, trying to comprehend what had just occurred. TK slipped a hand up under his hat, tucking his hair out of his eyes.

"Well, it's like this. Kari told me that you were here because of her brother, Taichi, so that meant I would have to share the guest room with you so I asked what you looked like and she told me and y'know, it sounded a hell of a lot like me. So we came up with this idea that it would be funny to tell you I was your long lost brother, just for fun. And you fell for it! That was the best part!" He grinned in a cheeky manner. Matt blinked again and ran a hand through his patched hair.

"Okay…wow, just…whatever. Screw it, I'm confused!" he announced, dropping his hand back to his side. Once again, the two younger teens laughed at their joke, apparently understanding something deeper than the other three boys. The two Japanese brothers stood absolutely clueless, looking back and forward between their sister and her 'boyfriend'. The couple stopped laughing and stared right back. Daisuke gave TK a small smile.

"Sorry dude, we're not exactly being friendly aren't we? Just kind of left you hanging there. Anyway, if it's any easier for you, call me Dais. Everybody else does." Daisuke grinned, kicking out the silence of the room. TK returned the smile whole-heartedly and nodded.

"Kari's told me quite a bit about you."

"Good things, I hope."

"Mostly how you get away with everything in the family because you're the baby."

"…sounds about right." Daisuke laughed, giving Kari a look that clearly said 'Why the hell did you tell him that!' Kari merely shrugged her shoulders and draped both arms over TK's, holding her hands together on his chest.

"And do I just call you Tai?" the blond asked the eldest Yagami-Motamiya sibling.

"I prefer **you** call me Taichi," Tai corrected him. The look on the older boy's face was nothing less than emotionless as he folded his arms and leaned against the back wall. TK shifted his feet and looked away from Tai's unbearable gaze.

"Right, Taichi. Nice to meet you in person," he spoke in a less confident tone.

"Likewise, kid," Tai replied briefly. He pushed himself from the wall and turned around, heading for the kitchen.

"Matt, Daisuke," he beckoned his brother and his best friend. The blue and cinnamon-eyed boys both gave the couple reassuring smiles before following Tai, waving over their shoulders. Once left alone in the room with Kari, TK let out a low sigh and grabbed Kari's hands in his own that were still on his chest.

"I don't think your older brother likes me much," he stated what appeared to be the obvious. Kari shrugged and plucked the bucket hat from his head.

"Well, just wait. Tai's generally cranky in the morning anyway," she replied with a small lie, releasing TK from her grasp and dropping the hat atop her own hair. "C'mon, your room's up here," she called over her shoulder and grabbed TK's bag, taking the stairs two at a time. TK whirled around and spotted his companion running off, breaking into a run of his own to follow her.

"You **do** realize that if you just ditch me I'll get lost, right?" he informed her, closing some of the distance between them.

"Maybe, but you'll find your way out eventually!" Kari giggled as she reached the top of the landing and turned before TK could reach her. The boy reached the top and looked around.

"Kari! That's not fair!" he whined, starting on his search to find his partner-in-crime and completely forgetting about the stiffness downstairs.

* * *

"Tai, slow down will you? You're going to choke!" Daisuke warned his brother who was in the process of shoveling Cap'n Crunch down his throat at lightning speed. 

"I will not." Tai shoved his bowl away and leaned back in his chair.

"What's your problem? You suddenly got really moody," Daisuke remarked as he drank from his glass of orange juice.

"Oh shut up," the older Japanese boy muttered, folding his arms over his chest and lowering his eyes. The brunet's American companion had nothing to say to the other boy, staring out into the front sitting room instead, waiting for TK and Kari to re-appear. Something was rather unnerving about the younger blond, yet he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Something struck Matt as odd about the boy, and he was hell-bent on finding out what it was. Just as he was about to get out of his chair and go investigate, the young couple entered the room.

"On the bright side, they're not holding hands," Tai mumbled to himself, keeping his eyes half-closed as he examined his sister and her friend. No, not her boyfriend, her friend. He refused to call TK his sister's boyfriend. In his opinion, Kari shouldn't even be dating yet. She just shouldn't. It wasn't because he was over-protective, no matter what others thought. Oh no, the reasoning went much deeper than that.

Why should Hikari get together with a pretty blond before he did?

So, therefore, he felt he had a reason to hold a grudge against the young male. Why? Simply because he could. When things don't go Taichi's way, life for others around him became a living hell. He made sure of it.

TK knew that Tai didn't like him. He could tell from the moment that he looked into the muddy-brown eyes that he couldn't stand the mere sight of him. The question though, was why. It wasn't as if he had offended him, not yet anyway. But, he supposed it didn't really matter. He had his Hikari, and Daisuke seemed to like him just fine. The only one whose feelings he couldn't decipher was the other boy, Matt. The young blond took a seat at the table with Kari, gazing at the pale boy curiously. Now that he actually stopped to look, he began to realize one tiny factor: he really did have a resemblance of himself. There were a few minor details that made them both very different people, such as the fact that Matt's eyelashes were rather long for a male and his hair, or the parts that were still gold, had a silky appearance that TK could only dream of ever having.

"Do I have something in my teeth or something?" the voice came out low and a pale pink tongue instantly began to swipe at perfectly straight white teeth. TK shook his head furiously and flashed another smile.

"Oh no, sorry. Guess I just got lost in thought and started staring into space," he replied, feeling rather foolish for being caught staring.

"He does that quite often, Matt, so you'll have to forgive him," Kari said in a joking manner, lightly poking him in the ribs. TK nodded in agreement and remained silent as he listened to Daisuke, Kari, and Matt converse about how The Sixth Sense was too over-rated. Seeing how he knew nothing about the movie (since he fell asleep 20 minutes into it), he really had nothing to say about it. He switched his gaze over to the left of Matt, which brought Tai into his view. Two eyebrows shot up into his hairline and his mouth couldn't help but quirk up a bit.

'_Well now, seems I'm not the only one staring at the two-toned wonder.'_ He thought in fair amusement, taking the time to sit back and watch Tai's actions closely.

Tanned fingers quivered slightly as Matt ran a hand through his hair, musing it up even more then it had been. A darker pink tongue ran itself slowly and sensually over two dry lips as a silver spoon was repeated popped into the other boy's mouth in between comments. Two chocolate eyes flickered and followed every move the American boy made, dominancy laced around the irises.

Yep, there was definitely something going on underneath that thatch of brown hair; and he had a feeling it had something to do with the tight black tank top Matt was wearing that clung to all the right places.

* * *

Matt felt slightly self-conscious that morning. He knew TK was staring at him, and he couldn't figure out why. The blue-eyed male involuntarily twitched under the critical gaze, unsure of how to interpret it. Was he supposed to think of it as a form of flattery? Or perhaps TK despised him and enjoyed imagining different ancient techniques that could be used to harm him immensely. He glanced over at the younger boy, who was currently laughing at something Kari had said. Matt came crashing back down to reality soon enough to realize that she had said something about **him**. At least he assumed so, seeing how all eyes were trained on him. 

"…okay, what did I just miss?" he inquired, his curiosity getting the best of him. Kari giggled slightly and set down the slice of toast in her hand, sprinkling the crumbs off of her fingers and onto the table.

"Well," she began slowly, taking a short sip of her apple juice. She paused then after setting the glass down.

"Well?" Matt repeated, starting to become edgy and borderline defensive.

"All I said was that your hair now matches your attitude!" she replied cheerfully. Matt narrowed his eyes momentarily before he realized, and remembered, the one thing that made him Yamato Ishida: he didn't care about others opinions.

"I agree to that." Daisuke nodded and picked up his glass, slurping up the rest of his juice.

"Dais, that's **so **obnoxious!" his sister complained, covering her ears with both hands. The mahogany-haired boy grinned mischievously.

"Why do you think I enjoy it so much?" He smirked and threw the glass back onto the table. Said glass bounced back and clattered to the floor loudly and most likely would have shattered had it not been plastic.

"Daisuke, you are being such a-" Kari stopped her explosion and tried to think of what Daisuke exactly was.

"I'm being what, Kari?" the youngest male cooed, knowing full-well that his sister didn't have a decent comeback. Kari groaned in defeat and fell silent, waving her own personal white flag. Daisuke flashed her a wide, cheesy grin and picked up the fallen dishware, getting out of his seat to place it in the sink. Matt also grinned and shook his head. He always knew he liked Daisuke for some reason or another and it was finally showing through. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who enjoyed expressing himself without giving a damn.

Then again, Taichi was exactly the same way. Maybe that's where Daisuke got it from. Who knew? Either way, both boys weren't afraid to be who they were, although there were cases where Daisuke would become rather shy, like his situation with Mimi. At least he didn't have to worry about that with Tai. As far as he was concerned, there were no secrets between them and he knew he could trust the psycho to be fully honest with him. Although…for the past few days, Tai had seriously been freaking out on him. Not the kind of freak-out like when he slipped into his schizo fit, but a different freak-out. He was being more social and open, always touching him and saying really dorky things that normally wouldn't even clutter his thoughts. Often times, Matt had to stop and wonder if he was high. He had never seen Tai so…weird.

What the hell was going on inside that boy's head?

He turned back to the idea of what was going on with TK. Somehow, that just seemed…safer. He wasn't too sure if he could handle Tai's weirdness this early in the morning. The younger blond boy was back to chattering with Kari and filling Daisuke in on details of their relationship.

'_Good, keep him busy so he doesn't suspect that I'm curious.' _He nodded shortly to himself. He watched the boy in front of him closely, analyzing his every move. The way he talked, the way he laughed, the way his nose twitched as Kari flicked at it, all these little details that Matt hoped would lead up to why he felt strange around the boy. But of course, it didn't do anything at all.

"Okay wait, so I can't stare at you, but you can stare at me?" his specimen prodded him with a playful tone, his blue eyes sparkling to meet Matt's own. Matt was about to reply with some sarcastic remark when it finally hit him: his eyes. His eyes were the reason! Over the course of his 15 years on the planet Earth, he had rarely met another human being with eyes that matched the color of his. Most blue eyes he had seen were sky blue, or cornflower blue, maybe even midnight blue or ocean blue. But his own eyes were different. His father had said that the color he possessed was called cobalt and that he had gotten them from his mother.

See, the strange thing was: TK's eyes matched Matt's perfectly.

'_How the hell is that possible? They're _**exactly**_ the same, right down to the shade they turn when the light hits them just right. Okay, slow down, Yamato and think before pulling a Tai. It could be simply because his parents had cobalt eyes. After all, you're not the only one with that color, nimrod.'_

'_I doubt calling yourself a nimrod is going to help the situation any,' _the irrational part of his brain chided.

'_He is being one though, so it's only fair that he realizes that. But anyway, point being you're not special. He probably just has a gene that gave him the same color,'_ the rational side took over, leaving Matt to listen to both sides battle.

'_Then how do you explain the same color hair too?'_ Irrational retorted.

'_Uh, duh. He's not the _**only**_ blond on this planet,'_ Rational argued back.

'_But it's the same gold and texture and everything! You cannot have cloned genes from two completely different people!'_

'_So what do _**you **_suggest is the reasoning?'_

'_That Matt's inner child was abducted by aliens and took form of the 14-year-old.'_

'…_wow, that was completely and utterly stupid. Point being, Matt and TK are just two completely different people who sort of look alike.'_

'_They _**do**_ look alike damnit because they are!'_

"God, shut up and let me think for myself!" Matt yelled, silencing the two parts of his mind. However, he also managed to silence everyone else in the room. Tai blinked once and gently put a hand on his shoulder. Matt looked at the hand briefly and raised an eyebrow.

'**Again**_ with the unnecessary touching.'_ He inwardly sighed.

"Are you okay?" Tai asked him slowly, staring into his eyes. Matt nodded in return and stood up, pushing his chair back against the wall.

"Can I use your phone real quick?"

"Yeah sure, you can use the cordless in the den for privacy," Daisuke informed him, completely shrugging off the discomfort of the previous outburst. Matt turned on his heel and ran into the den, dialing the number of his phone card from memory. After listening to the short message, he punched in the number he wished to call and listened to it ring once, ring twice, and click, signaling that the other person had picked up.

"Hello, Ishida residence."

"Dad!"

"Well, you sound slightly more chipper than the last time I spoke with you."

"Look, no time for discussing my attitude. I need you to tell me something." Matt leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He placed his head in the palm of his left hand and held the phone tightly in his right, listening to his father's voice.

"What could be so urgent that you had to call me at 8:30 at night?" Hiroaki spoke in a slightly amused, yet confused tone.

"8:30?" Matt turned his head to the clock on the wall, reading the time to be 10:30am.

"Yamato, remember, different countries?"

"Oh…right." It clicked that he was still sitting in Japan. He shook his head furiously and a small scowl formed onto his features.

"Dad! Stop distracting me! This is important!"

"Then spit it out," Hiroaki laughed, enjoying his time of taunting his son.

"What's my brother's name?" Hiroaki's laughter faded and Matt's ears were met with silence. It remained silent while his father was thinking, or perhaps hesitating. He remembered that his father tended to offer not a lot of information about his mother or his brother, both of whom he knew so little of.

"Takeru."

"What?" he snapped back, unprepared for the answer the first time.

"His name is Takeru. That was the name your mother and I decided on."

"To rage?"

"Correct."

"Why?"

"You have to remember, that was the period of time we were fighting."

"Oh." More silence came through, father and son sitting on the phone with nothing to say. It was Matt who broke the quiet first, surprising both of them.

"So, um, what do you have planned for Christmas since I'm not there?"

"Clarice is off visiting her parents."

"…what about you?"

"I'm not quite sure. I may very well end up just sitting at home eating a microwavable dinner and watching old holiday movies."

"Dad, you can't be serious. It's Christmas," Matt protested, coming to realize his behavior was becoming stranger and stranger.

"Well, it's no big deal, it's just **one** Christmas. Plus, she'll be back later tomorrow evening," Hiroaki said casually, knowing very well that his son was now feeling guilty.

"I'm still sorry."

"Don't be; enjoy your Christmas with your friends. You deserve it."

"But I-"

"Am going to hang up the phone and listen to your father," Hiroaki finished for him. Matt closed his mouth and nodded, even though his father couldn't see it.

"Right. Well, Merry Christmas, Dad," He said at last, feeling rather awkward about the whole thing.

"Merry Christmas, Yamato."

"Matt," the boy corrected him without thinking.

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Matt," he announced quietly, coming to the conclusion that the name would be foreign to his father for quite a while.

"Well then…Merry Christmas, Matt. I love you." Needless to say, Matt was stunned by the sudden show of affection from him. Too stunned.

"I…I…bye." He pressed the end button quickly. He stared at the black device blankly, taking his time for his emotions and thoughts to slow down. Why hadn't he been able to say it back? What was so ridiculously hard about saying I love you too? Then to top it off, he finds out his father will be spending most of his Christmas alone. That's no way for someone to spend their holiday! It just didn't seem fair.

Then again, there was nothing he could really do about it. Going down to the airport and requesting a ticket back to New York was ultimate suicide, especially on Christmas Eve, assuming they had any left.

Another thing: he couldn't just pick up and leave Tai. Not after he had pretty much insisted that he come home with him. And besides, while he admitted that it would be nice to spend Christmas with his own family, he was having more fun with Tai's family. After all, hadn't his father said he deserved it anyway? Yeah, that sounded pretty close to what he said.

"Well, Merry Christmas to me," he chuckled slightly and ran up the three stairs back into the sitting room and turning into the kitchen. Only, he soon came to discover that only the two brothers remained in the kitchen.

"Where'd TK and Kari go?" he asked, preparing to take off again.

"Kari went out to the garage to look for her CDs and TK said something about unpacking while he had time," Daisuke answered, knowing very well that his brother wasn't going to.

"Thanks, Dai." Matt waved and ran out of the kitchen, skidding on the linoleum floor in his white socks and barreling up the stairs. He slowed to a stop just outside of his bedroom door, remembering that TK was bunking with him for the duration of his stay. He tiptoed over to the door and gently pushed it open, peering inside. He spotted the younger boy throwing clothes out of his bag and littering the floor. A small snicker escaped from his lips and he forced himself to be quiet. He took in a deep breath and stuck his head into the room.

TK had his back facing the door, having no idea that Matt was watching him. Matt continued waiting, thinking that eventually TK would turn around. Of course, Yamato Ishida didn't have the wonderful little virtue of patience. So he waited for a short while longer, and he would have kept waiting had he not said the one magic word.

"Takeru." TK jumped at the sound.

"Yes?" he queried and turned around. His eyes grew about three sizes wider once he realized **who** exactly it was who had called him.

"I knew it!" Matt exclaimed and darted into the room, throwing the door shut behind him.

"What?" TK squeaked, no less than bewildered at the sudden movements Matt made.

"Your full name is Takeru, isn't it?"

"Well duh. I wouldn't have responded otherwise, now would I?" TK raised an elegant eyebrow and leaned against the wall next to the window.

"Question is, how did **you** know that?" he continued, attempting to be intimidating and failing miserably.

"Dad." A fresh wave of confusion fell over the younger blond and he folded his arms, continuing to examine Matt.

"Meaning…"

"Dad told me. That's what he and Mom named you," Matt continued ranting on, picking up more energy and excitement as he went. TK rewarded his efforts with a strange look and shook his head.

"Look, I have no clue what you're talking about but-"

"You and I are related! We really are brothers! Hello, how can you not see that?" the patched-haired boy shouted, nearly in hysterics at the mere idea that he really had a brother and he was standing right in front of him.

"Well very easily apparently. How can you proof that we're really related?" TK decided it was his place to be logical. After all, hadn't Kari told him that Matt attended the same school her brothers did? Yeah…that was the school of the mental. Who knew if he could really trust this?

"Did I **not** just say Dad told me he named you?"

"That's not good enough, Matt. What else?"

"The fact that you look almost exactly like me maybe?"

"Just the hair color."

"No way, bud." Matt grabbed TK by the wrist and pulled him into the bathroom. He forced the other boy to look straight ahead into the mirror and placed his head right next to him.

"Look at your eyes…and then look at mine." Matt blinked slowly, looking at all four cobalt eyes. TK swallowed briefly and nodded, standing up straight.

"We got them from Mom. Same with the blond hair," Matt said to him.

"You can't prove that." TK's eyes narrowed into a small glare.

"What can't I prove exactly, younger brother?" Matt chose his words carefully, knowing very well that they would rile up the other boy.

"You don't even **know** my mother. And I am **not** your brother! It was a joke!" TK yelled, starting to become very angry with the American boy. Why couldn't he just accept the fact that he had been fooled instead of trying to carry out the joke? TK had no answer, but he did know that it was rubbing on his nerves quite well.

"What do I have to say to get you to believe me?" Matt inquired, wandering back to the guest room. TK paused behind him, thinking through his options carefully. He stepped into the room fully and sat on the futon couch with his eyes trained on Matt.

"What is my mother's name?" he finally said, feeling a little better about himself. Unless Matt was a stalker, he could never know that his mother's name was-

"Takaishi Natsuko. Takaishi is her maiden name." TK's eyes widened again and he shook his head furiously, simply refusing to believe any of what Matt was trying to tell him.

"You couldn't have possibly known that unless someone else had told you and I know no one else in this house knows her name."

"Just face the facts, kid. We're related. We're brothers. Parents got divorced right after you were born on September 17th, 1989. You and Mom moved, I'm guessing to here, and Dad and I stayed in New York." Matt carefully sprawled out on the bed, propping his head up with his hands and staring right back. With a small little look of superiority, he grinned at the other boy. "How's **that** for proof?" His tone had a hint of gloating mixed in. TK chose not to answer.

Instead, he reached to his left and picked up the phone, frantically dialing his home. Matt lay still and dropped his head on the bed, watching his little brother panic.

"Mom! Do I really have a brother?" he questioned in a flustered manner, pressing the phone closer to his ear. His mouth fell ajar and he pulled the phone away, tilting his head to the side as though that would help his hearing.

"Are you **serious**?" he said more as a statement than a question. Matt grinned to himself and laughed, knowing that for once, he was certain of something.

"Why didn't you even bother telling me? That would have helped me, like, a lot!" TK continued ranting to his mother, running a hand through his hair that was fully revealed thanks to the loss of his hat. Matt himself was quite amazed by simple things. As he continued watching his brother, he started to see different little habits that he himself had, so did the other boy. Such as the hair thing. Matt only messed with his hair when he was thinking or frustrated. It appeared that TK did it out of nervous feelings or embarrassment.

"What's his name?" the younger blue-eyed male asked, shooting Matt a look of disbelief. Matt simply shrugged and shot back his own look that seemed to say, _'I told you so.'_ TK glared again and paused, listening to his mother offer the information he wanted.

"I see. Well, thanks. No, I was just curious. Are you going back to work right now?" Matt's ears perked up as he listened to this end's conversation. His window of opportunity suddenly flew open so fast that the glass shattered. Sitting here across from him was his key to finding out everything he wanted about his mother.

"Oh. Okay well, Merry Christmas if I don't get to see you until the summer. Love you too. Bye." TK hung up the phone and stared at Matt in his own little state of shock.

"Now do you believe me?"

"Only if your name is Yamato."

"It is," a third voice joined them from the doorway. Both pale boys whipped their necks around and spotted Tai standing there, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What are you two doing up here?" the brunet asked, stifling a small yawn. Matt glanced at TK once more, who had moved over onto Matt's bed once Tai appeared. TK's eyes flashed with sudden admiration and wonder. Matt closed his eyes and smiled, giving him his very first hug from his older brother. Opening his eyes, and not releasing TK, Matt turned to Tai with the same soft smile.

"Tai, I would like you to meet my little brother, Takeru," he said for the first time in his life.

And boy did it feel good to say it.

* * *

After a short-handed explanation and a few odd questions, the Yagami-Motomiya siblings accepted the fact that TK was related to Matt. 

"This week is just so full of surprises, isn't it?" Kari said thoughtfully, curling up in her favorite chair in the den.

"What do you mean?" Matt questioned the only female in the room.

"Well, think about it. Megumi really being named Mimi, TK being your brother, what's next? Frosty the snowman being a male stripper from Vegas?" Daisuke voiced his input instead, flipping through the channels on the TV at a rapid pace.

"The strange thing is, everyone we know is someone from Matt's life," Tai put together the connection, picking a piece of imaginary fuzz off of Matt's shirt.

"Well, it is a small world after all, now isn't it?" Matt grinned and laughed. The three younger teens were discussing something about the different TV shows Daisuke kept passing and which ones were and weren't good to watch. Matt watched them in amusement, his smile never leaving his lips. Tai noticed the renewed glimmer in Matt's eye and couldn't be bothered to suppress his own smile.

"It makes me happy to see you so happy," he whispered into his best friend's ear, pulling away from his face to look him in the eye.

"Why do you say that?" Matt turned his attention away from the TV and looked at Tai with one eye.

"Do you **not** remember who you were only a mere two months ago? You were miserable and lonely. But now…it just amazes me. Really." Tai grinned and looked at the TV, leaving no room for Matt to add anything to the conversation. The patchy-haired boy shook his head at the vague idea, but appreciated it all the same. He knew that Tai would be happy about him being happy. But he knew that Tai would never realize that it was all his doing that made him be a happy person.

'_He's too thick to understand the effect that he causes on people.'_ He giggled softly and turned back to the TV. Suddenly, he sat up from his slouched position and froze. He did **not** just giggle. Giggling was for girls, and the last time he checked, he was definitely not a girl. **At all.**

"So, what should we do today?" Kari asked, snatching the remote away from her brother.

"Who says we actually have to do anything? It's Christmas Eve. We reserve the right to be lazy bums," Tai replied, staring at the headlines of the news.

"What if I don't want to be a lazy bum?"

"That's not my problem."

"We should go do something though. That way Mom has time to finish making preparations for tomorrow and wrap our presents," Daisuke explained, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"What's happening tomorrow?" TK turned his attention to the other boy.

"Our grandparents and Mom's sister and her family are coming over to visit," Kari replied, dropping the remote on the short coffee table.

"And how many people is that?" Matt asked tentatively and turned his head to look at the siblings.

"Seven," came the response from both of their mouths. Matt felt his arms tense up and his heart rate increase. Okay, it wasn't like he was majorly anti-social; it was just the fact that he couldn't stand being around people. A few people, he could deal with, no problems. But a large group of people? No. Way.

If he thought about it, it would be the five kids (Tai, Kari, Daisuke, TK, and himself), Ami, Michael (who he still had yet to meet), two grandparents, an aunt, an uncle, and by process of elimination, and some quick thinking, three cousins, coming to a grand total of…14 people! All in one house! On Christmas!

'_It can't be that bad. Just remember that it's Tai's family. Just be calm about the whole thing and you can survive.'_ He reassured himself and plastered a smile on his face.

"Sounds great!" he responded cheerfully in attempt to cover up the pause he created. Kari nodded and gave him her own smile.

"You'll like our cousins, one's a year older than you and Tai, one's about one year older than that, and the other is a college student," she added unnecessary information.

"They **are** pretty cool once they loosen up," Daisuke cut in.

"Actually, it's just Jyou who needs to loosen up. Poor kid's so paranoid about everything," Kari corrected her brother.

"**Snow!"** her other brother shouted suddenly, causing the other four to crank their heads back to the TV, which was hard to see with Tai's big head of hair blocking it.

"Tai, move out of the way!" TK whined from behind him. Tai turned his head and gave the blond an evil look, causing him to shrink back.

"Sorry!" he squeaked and shrunk behind Kari, who in turn rolled her eyes and moved over to Tai, smacking him behind the head.

"Stop being so rude!" she demanded and moved him over to the left so they could all see the screen. Tai rubbed the back of his head and muttered something indecipherable. Kari reached out in front of her and pushed the button to raise the volume.

"There is a 60 chance of snow this evening with a high of 42 degrees Fahrenheit and 28 as a low. This is KXLY News on the hour," the announcer reported. Tai shut the TV off with his foot and turned to the others, a wide grin spreading across his features.

"Finally!" he exclaimed and stood up, bouncing on his heels in delight.

"Snow for Christmas, how absolutely perfect!" Kari cheered as she dashed over to the window. She undid the blinds and peered outdoors, being greeted by grey skies and a light breeze that you could only tell was present from the way the bare branches of the trees bent.

"Well, it looks cold enough," Daisuke commented as he peered over Kari's shoulder.

"Maybe we'll have some snow by tonight." TK glanced over Kari's other shoulder. She nodded lazily and suddenly snapped her head up.

"Crap!"

"No, snow," Daisuke corrected her.

"No, I just remembered I need to buy presents!" she exclaimed, closing the blinds and racing towards the stairs to go back up to the main level.

"Presents? Presents for me?" Tai's ears perked up and he rose to his feet, following his sister out to the hall.

"Yes, presents for you! And presents for Dais, Matt, and TK," Kari replied from her place on the floor, where she was trying to tug on her black and pink skater shoes.

"Presents!" Tai clapped his hands. Daisuke, Matt, and TK had appeared in the front hall by this point, looking questioningly at the Yagami siblings.

"What about presents?" Daisuke asked first.

"Oh, I forgot to buy yours and Tai's presents, and I was going to buy Matt and TK something too, so I have to run to the mall for a little bit," Kari explained and rose to her feet.

"I'll come with you. I need to buy a few things too," TK remembered and slipped on his own white tennis shoes.

"Presents!" Tai bellowed again and dashed up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door shut. Matt and Daisuke looked at each other, up the stairs, and back at each other, shrugging their shoulders and deciding not to worry.

"That translates to he wants to come too," Kari sighed and slipped on her black jacket.

"Then I might as well get dressed and go too!" Daisuke grinned and darted up the stairs after his brother. A few strings of curses were heard and the door slammed one more time, signaling that Daisuke had gotten into the room to get dressed.

"Well Matt, I doubt you want to stay in our house alone, so why don't you go get ready too?" Kari suggested and motioned up the stairs. Matt nodded and began his ascent up the stairs into the guest room. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to his suitcase and unzipped it, rifling through his different articles of clothing. He closed his eyes and shoved both hands deep inside the bag, deciding that he would wear whatever he pulled out. To his delight, when he opened his eyes he found an outfit he approved off. Making sure the door was closed, he stripped off his jogging pants and slid into the other pants he had on the bed. Slipping off the black tank top, he replaced it with another shirt. Adding a few more accessories to his outfit, he examined himself in the mirror thoroughly.

For a top he was wearing a black short-sleeved short with white letters that were purposely cracked in some places.

"American Idiot," the American read with a smirk.

'_Indeed I am.' _He thought in amusement as his gaze moved down to his pants.

The pants themselves were something that he himself couldn't have even imagined if he tried. The detail on them was incredible right down to every last stitch. They too were black and the stitches were an electric blue, running along the edge of the pockets and down the sides of the legs, amongst other places like his belt loops. Attached to the front two belt loops were two chains, each going down the side of his leg and attaching to his side pockets. Said pockets were squares with flaps the came down to keep them closed.

Adorned with the same blue stitching, there was a single row of spikes on the flap of the pocket and two strips of ten pyramid studs on the actual pockets themselves. The bottom had a few more pyramid studs and a zipper and drawstring to change the length and width of the opening. The back of the pants had a loop in the center that held onto two straps of fabric that matched his pants, hanging down behind him. The back pockets were rather deep and the back of his thighs had two little zippers. Why they were there, Matt had no clue.

"They just rock. That's all there is to it." Matt nodded to himself once and ran a hand through his hair, watching the spikes gracefully fall back into place. He had to admit, Kari was right. His hair did match his personality, or at least his clothes. His pants were being held up by a simple black belt, and of course, in his back right pocket was his black wallet with the blue flames, attached to another belt loop by the chain closure. His fingers were itching to reach into the bag to put on his black choker, but he decided that what he had on was just enough. He closed the door to his room (a habit he had picked up by the time he was eight) and headed downstairs, where the others were already waiting. Tai heard the jingling of the chains and turned towards the stairs with a smile, which quickly changed to a look of surprise when he got a look at what his best friend was actually wearing.

"Well…don't you look…um…" Tai couldn't really find a way to describe what he was looking at. Sure, he knew Matt had his dark side, but this? This was just too much.

"Gothic comes to mind," Daisuke filled in the blank. Now that Matt thought about it, it was rather gothic. But in a way, it wasn't gothic. At least he wasn't wearing make-up this time.

"It's not gothic; it's just how I express myself," Matt said in an airy tone, sticking his hands into his pockets. He looked over Daisuke's chosen outfit briefly, noticing that it was just something simple; a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with yellow designs on the front and left sleeve and jeans that somewhat flared out at the bottom. His gaze then flickered onto Tai.

The brunet was sporting a pair of tight-fitting navy-blue jogging pants with two white wolf paws, one on each side of his bum. On the front of his left thigh it said OHS T-Wolves in grey lettering. For a top, he wore a plain white t-shirt and a blue zip-up jacket to match his pants. On his feet were his regular shoes.

More reasoning for Matt to keep his hands in his pockets: to restrain himself and possibly relieve some tension he would most definitely feel by the end of the day.

'_Thank you Dad for accidentally ripping a hole in my pocket.'_ He thought as his fingers itched closer to go through the hole. He stopped himself and let his hand hover over the hole, making the decision to test himself and see how long he could last.

'_And judging by how things are at the moment, it won't be for too terribly long. Damn his tight, firm ass.'_ Matt reprimanded himself.

"Okay, express yourself, whatever. Point being, at least put a jacket on, it's cold out there!" Tai reminded him and shoved Matt's black light-weight coat into his arms. Not wanting to protest (and the fact he didn't trust his voice not to squeak), he slid the coat on wordlessly and slipped into his black and white converse high-tops.

"That's better. Now let's get going!" Tai instructed the group and they all headed out the door, walking the few blocks to the shopping mall.

Well, if you consider 36 blocks a few.

"Somebody **please** tell me why we decided to walk. Seriously," Daisuke whined, panting all the way.

"Dais, it's only three miles," Kari replied, showing no signs of being exhausted.

"Kari, it's cold. It's December. I'm freezing. It's a pretty damn long three miles!" Daisuke exclaimed, flailing his arms around.

"Quit whining, we're there," Tai intervened his siblings' bickering and pointed at the large building in front of them. The five kids raced towards the entrance and burst inside, immediately feeling the temperature change. Daisuke sighed contently and snuggled deeper into the top of his jacket.

"Warmth," he mewled and followed his friends through the mall.

"Okay, so here's what we're going to do. I'm going to go shop by myself so that I can buy all four of your presents. Matt and Daisuke can go shop for presents for Tai and TK, and vice versa, got it? Good," Kari said in one breath and took off, popping into a shop about 15 feet in front of them. The four boys blinked at each other and shrugged.

"Guess she knows what's best. C'mon Dais," Matt said and grabbed Daisuke's upper arm gently, pulling him in the direction opposite of Kari. Tai and TK stood still and continued to look at one another; TK feeling slightly fearful of Tai, and Tai feeling slightly jealous of TK.

Why did everybody else get to be close to his Yama?

"Look, I know you don't like me. I don't know why, and I'm not sure I even want to** know** why. All I know is that the only reason I haven't flipped out yet is because of Hikari. You can try and freak me out as much as you want but it's not going to change the fact that I care about your sister, very deeply I might add, and that I'd do anything for her, including putting up with a monstrous big brother such as yourself. So get over it, 'cause I'm not leaving," TK boldly interrupted his musings. Tai took the time to blink at the younger boy and let his words sink in. A smirk came across his lips which turned into a smile, followed by a hearty laugh.

"You've got guts, kid, quite a character too. And I know you love my sister. She's told my mom, who's told me, many of the things you've done for her and I do say, I'm impressed. I mean, pulling the fire alarm to make everyone else soaked just so she wouldn't feel embarrassed for falling into the pool and going to class sopping wet? Classic." Tai switched personalities and began chatting with TK like they had been long-time friends.

"I would hope she appreciated it. I got suspended for three days!" TK grinned back at the brunet. Suddenly, he didn't seem so bad. He was just your typical, out-going teenage boy. The two boys headed in the direction that Kari had gone, keeping their eyes out for anything that seemed interesting.

"You're a pretty decent guy, TK. I know you're the best for my sister," Tai complimented the blond, looking in the window of a pet shop they passed.

"Glad you see things my way, Taichi." Tai waved his hand at the name and grinned again.

"Call me Tai. All of my friends do."

TK nodded and laughed. "Right, Tai. Sounds nice."

* * *

"What do you think Tai would like?" the American teen asked his younger friend, looking in different windows. 

"Well, that all depends. What would you like to buy him?" Daisuke replied as he glanced at the different kiosk stands apathetically.

"Well, something he would really like would be a good thing. But I've only known him for a short amount of time. And seeing how you're his brother…" Matt trailed off, leaving Daisuke to come to his own conclusion. Feeling that he was going to be okay, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and let them drop to his sides as they continued walking.

"Well, the most I can do is offer you hints."

"Meaning?"

"Well, let me tell you a few unknown things about Taichi Yagami that not many people know." Daisuke stopped walking and sat on a bench.

"Um, why are we stopping?" Matt asked and sat next to the rusty-haired boy, who currently had his head between his knees. Matt's features were suddenly flooded with a suspicious look and he leaned down further so Daisuke could hear him.

"Are you okay?"

Daisuke responded with a short shrug and a deep breath, slowly lifting his head up a little ways. "Truthfully, I'm not feeling so great." The Japanese boy rubbed at his eyes and sat up the whole way.

"What kind of not feeling so great…?" Cobalt eyes blinked with concern, suddenly realizing that he would probably have to be responsible for what to do with Daisuke.

"I just feel kind of nauseous…it's nothing, forget I said anything." Daisuke shook his head and offered Matt a weak smile. Matt bit his lip and also shook his head.

"Nope, can't forget it now."

"Matt, don't worry about it. Just give me a few to catch my bearings." Daisuke curled up onto the bench, tucking his legs under him and wrapping his arms across his stomach.

"Dais, if you're sick we can just go find your sister and our brothers and go home," Matt brought up a point that Daisuke had already considered. Then he remembered why he had decided against it.

"No, I'm fine. It's starting to die down anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Tai and Kari don't need something else to worry about and neither do my parents. I think it's just because I haven't eaten today. So why don't we go get something from the food court and then we can continue shopping around?" Daisuke babbled senselessly and bounced to his feet, almost falling backwards due to the sudden movement.

"Right…food court. Let's go," Matt agreed and waited for Daisuke to lead him there.

The two boys entered the busy food place five minutes later, Daisuke stepping in line for fries and Matt sitting on a bench not too far away. The gothic-looking boy sat still, thinking about the many possible things his friend would like. He also had to find something to buy for his brother and then maybe two small things for Kari and Daisuke, just because he felt like being nice.

Speaking of Daisuke, where was he? It doesn't take someone 15 minutes to buy fries when the line was so short. He was about ready to get up and try to find him when he spotted the tanned boy walking towards him with a small container of fries in his hand.

"That's all you got?" Matt gave the younger boy a skeptical look.

"That's all I had money for. I want to buy Tai and Kari something really nice this year, so I kept a ton of my money," he replied and slowly munched on a few of his fries. He resisted the urge to spit the food back out since he knew Matt was watching him closely. He couldn't help but gag as he swallowed the fries though. He just was not in the mood for food, which was rather odd if he thought about it. He shook his head and sat on the bench next to Matt, setting the container down.

"Well anyway, Tai is going to like anything you buy him. Just remember that much," he began talking again.

"I know, but I still want it to be special and something he'll appreciate, y'know? I just want it to be something that can help express my gratitude for his friendship and all that other crap," Matt clarified as he played with one of his chains.

"I think he would appreciate it if you never went out in public wearing those pants ever again," Daisuke chuckled slightly. Matt grinned and shrugged.

"Yeah, probably, but they're what I wore back home. Besides, I think they're kind of hot."

"He probably thinks so too," Daisuke murmured under his breath.

"What'd you say?" Matt asked since he didn't hear it clearly.

"Never mind. Anyway, Tai is more then sports, although that may be hard to tell."

"Of course it is. But what else does he like?"

"Art."

"…are you kidding?" Matt stared at him in disbelief. Daisuke shook his head and popped one more fry into his mouth.

"Tai's always been big on drawing since he was a kid. He's got about eight sketchbooks somewhere in our room just filled with different sketches and finished pieces he's made over the years."

"Never would have guessed it."

"Neither would we until his junior high art teacher called just to let us know that she thought his work was remarkable. He denied it, of course, and then Kari came bouncing in with three of his books."

"Wow…that kind of gives me a vague idea."

"I think you should get him something artistic. He'll genuinely be surprised, I can tell ya that." Daisuke stood up and threw away the fry container, which was still half-full. Matt chose not to comment on that fact and stood up as well, stretching his arms behind him.

"So where's the nearest artsy place?" he asked. Daisuke turned to his left and started walking, expecting Matt to follow him. The two walked along at a steady pace, stopping in front of a medium-sized store called The Canvas. They walked inside and began browsing through different tools of trade. Daisuke had wandered off somewhere else in the store, leaving Matt to fend for himself. He found himself in front of a rack of sketchbooks, hundreds upon hundreds of different sizes, shapes, and designs. He began to paw through the shelves, looking for one that generally screamed Tai. Everything he had found so far had been too plain, too weird, or too girly to fit his friend. Then it hit him. Literally. The phonebook-sized sketchpad was hard-covered in black with orange and yellow flames, along with a giant red dragon circling the front. He flipped it over to look at the backside and was rather pleased to see that it was the same image. He stepped to his right a few feet and noticed a new stand.

"Engraving?" he said to himself. He reached into his pocket and counted his money. He had enough to buy the book, have it engraved, buy TK something really nice, and the two small things for Tai's younger siblings. Perfect.

"Excuse me?" he called to the engraver. "How much would it cost me to have the name Taichi engraved?"

* * *

On the other side of the shopping mall, Tai and TK were inside a gaming store. 

"Soul Calibur 2!" TK grinned and flipped over the box, reading the description thoroughly.

"Hey check it out! I'm on fire, baby!" Tai quoted Matt's boxers as he followed the colored arrows in the Dance Dance Revolution game he was playing with.

"Wow, nice score," TK remarked and leaned against the wall, watching his friend enjoy himself. Tai did a suave spin and jumped off the gaming platform, which announced that he was the winner.

"Well, that was fun," Tai panted and tried to catch his breath. TK laughed slightly and the two boys walked out of the store with their bags in their hands.

"When do you think we'll meet up with everybody else?" the blond asked as they sat by the fountain that stood in the middle of the mall.

"Kari said that we'd all meet back here at 3pm. And it is…2:55pm right now," Tai replied with a quick check of his watch.

"Nice timing."

"I think so too." Tai dipped his hand into the water and scooped up some, splashing it on his sweaty face.

"Hey, there's Kari." TK pointed down the mall as he spotted his girlfriend walking towards them at a rapid pace. She arrived next to them in no time and sat down.

"Find everything you wanted?" Tai asked his sister as he kept his eyes out for his brother and best friend.

"Yes I did. Did you?" she shot back.

"Yeah mostly," TK replied for the both of them.

"What should we do when we get home?" he continued, seeing how Tai wasn't really going to participate.

"Who said we had to go home?" Kari grinned.

"You raise a very good point, miss." TK grinned back. Tai resisted rolling his eyes and perked up when he spotted the tuft of black and blonde hair.

"There they are." He stood up and started walking towards them. Only when he got there,

"Where's Daisuke?" he asked the instant he realized his brother wasn't with Matt.

"He said he was going to use the bathroom real quick before we left."

"Why, we're only three miles from our house..."

"Don't ask me, it's your brother." Matt shrugged and the two oldest teens headed back towards their siblings.

"What's our next step you guys?" Tai asked as he sat down again.

"We were thinking a movie," TK responded and readjusted his hat that he took back from Kari.

"Which one?" Matt asked warily, not about ready to fall for the same thing twice.

"Polar Express," Kari beamed.

"It was her idea, not mine," TK defended himself.

"Oh come on! You know you want to go see it too," Kari giggled as a small pinkish tinge made its way onto TK's cheeks.

"Sounds fine to me. And no Matt, it's not a horror movie," Tai teased his pale friend.

"I know that!" Matt pouted slightly, knowing that Tai was picking on him. Tai draped an arm over Matt's shoulders and grinned.

"You know I'm just teasing you."

Matt grinned and poked Tai in the side. "I know. But it amazes me that you can think of things to tease me for."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, I am the Almighty Perfection. I can do no wrong!" Matt declared and stood in a Super Man pose.

"Well Almighty Perfection, your fly's undone," Tai snickered. Matt looked down and made a small sound that was a cross between a yelp and a squeak. His hand quickly flew down and zipped up his pants, sending a glare at Tai.

"When did you plan on telling me that?"

"I didn't actually," Tai answered honestly. Matt groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Meanie. I'd tell you if **your** fly was undone."

"Probably because you'd be the reason it was undone to begin with."

"You wish!" The two boys broke into laughter and stopped insulting each other. Kari looked at her watch and sighed.

"It's 3:15pm now. The movie starts at 3:35. Where the hell is Daisuke?" she came to her point, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.

"Want us to go look for him?" Matt offered, already turning around to walk off.

"Don't bother, he's right there." Tai pointed out his brother who was dragging his feet through the crowds. He reached the other four in a short amount of time and pasted on a smile.

"Hey sorry I'm late, I got sidetracked," he said lamely, knowing full well that his brother wouldn't buy it. Matt didn't buy it either. The boy in front of him was shaky and a little paler than usual. He watched him closely as Tai gave him the once-over and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Don't worry about it. We're going to watch a movie, sound good to you?" Tai turned around and started following his sister before he could get an answer.

"Yeah sure!" Daisuke mustered up as much enthusiasm as he possibly could. Even though in reality, it didn't sound too good. All he could really think about was going home and taking a short nap. But if he told his brother that, Tai would most definitely tell his Mom and then he'd have to spend the rest of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in his bed. There was no way he was going to allow that to happen. So what did he do?

He followed the older teens into the movie theater. He was at least allowed to sit on the end so he could make a clean exit if he had to. Then again, it wasn't really his choice where he sat. TK was sitting on the other end, simply because he had walked in first. Kari wanted to sit next to him, since they were dating after all. Tai decided that he wasn't going to tolerate that and chose to sit next to Kari to make sure they didn't start making out in the middle of the movie (which struck Daisuke as odd, seeing how he hadn't even seen his sister kiss her boyfriend yet). Then of course, he had dragged Matt along and made him sit down next to him, which left Daisuke to sit on the very end.

Not that he objected. Nope, not at all.

The movie began playing on the big screen and all five of them were hushed, intently staring at the moving picture. They had been forced to sit towards the front right in front of the screen because the theater was crowded that day. The sound was rather loud and it hurt Daisuke's ears. Like once before that day, he tucked his legs under him and wrapped his arms around his abdomen. Matt was watching him from the corner of his eye and turned suddenly, leaning over so that Tai couldn't hear a thing.

"Awfully long bathroom break, don't you think?" he whispered quietly to the younger male. Daisuke blinked and shrugged, shrinking back from the loud sound of the movie.

"No big deal," he finally replied.

"You puked didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"Daisuke…"

"Mostly dry-heaves though."

"Daisuke…"

"It's not a big deal."

"Daisuke!"

"**What?" **

"I can smell it on your breath."

"…please don't say anything."

"You're going to have to though." Daisuke shook his head and tuned Matt out, laying his head back on the seat. Matt sighed and dug through his pockets, coming up with a piece of mint gum. Reaching over, he shoved it into the other boy's hand and gave him a firm look.

"At least chew on that. It'll make your breath smell better and possibly make you feel better too," he told him and looked back at the screen, not needing to watch to know Daisuke would listen to him. The younger boy looked at Matt in surprise, put the gum into his mouth and began chewing on it, closing his eyes briefly.

* * *

The lights of the theater blinked on, flooding the room with bright light. Kari was the first one to recover from the temporary blindness and stood up, pulling TK to his feet. 

"That was cute, seriously," Kari gushed as she attempted to pull her brother up too.

"Hey, hey, hey! I can get up myself, thanks kindly," Tai protested and got up on his own, bending backwards to stretch out. His shirt rose up slightly, revealing nicely ripped abs. Matt shook his head to delete his fantasies. First of all, he shouldn't even be **having** fantasies about boys to begin with. Secondly…

It was Tai. His best friend. His roommate for crying out loud! That could turn into a very bad thing if Matt suddenly started fantasizing about him and Tai while Tai wasn't aware of it.

"Hey, is he sleeping?" Tai suddenly popped back into his world, nodding at his younger brother, who indeed was soundly sleeping.

"I believe he is," Matt replied, somewhat relieved that the boy had found some time to rest. Tai walked over and crouched down in front of Daisuke's seat, shaking his shoulder softly.

"Hey, Dai, wake up. Show's over," Tai said briefly. The youngest boy's eyes fluttered open slowly and blinked.

"Say wha?"

"Was it really that dull for you?" Kari asked, wandering over with TK holding her hand.

"Sorry. I was just really tired…" Daisuke trailed off and stood up, grabbing his bags off of the floor and following the others out into the main mall.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, shall we grab dinner here?" TK questioned as they walked by the food court.

"Might as well, it's like 6pm," Matt answered.

"Are you going to call Mom?" Kari asked her older brother.

"Do you have any spare change?" he bounced back a question.

"I have a cell phone." TK reached into his pocket and took out a small silver flip-phone.

"Awesome, save some change!" Tai cheered and swiped the phone and dialed the home number all in one fluid motion.

"Hey Mom, Tai here. All five of us are at the mall, we're grabbing our own food so don't worry about us and we'll be home before eight or nine. Bye." Tai hung up the phone and handed it back to the younger blue-eyed.

"Nobody there?" Matt asked.

"Nope, got the machine, which means that she and Michael are probably out. Again."

"Mom said that they were going to go visit Dad's parents tonight," Daisuke informed his older brother.

"Good, at least she didn't drag us along this year," Kari muttered and sat at an empty table.

"Yeah, that is a plus. Anyway, what are we doing for food?" Tai changed the subject easily, not wanting to talk about his stepfather.

"I want Burger King," Kari replied and leaned back in her chair.

"That sounds good," TK said thoughtfully.

"Whatever, I claim pizza." Tai shrugged and fished around for his wallet in the bags of purchases he bought.

"We just **had** pizza," Matt snorted in disgust.

"So?"

"Never mind. I want Taco Bell," the patched one decided.

"Ooh, that sounds good too. I want that!" Tai changed his mind suddenly.

"You are the most indecisive person I've met, you know that?" Matt asked rhetorically. Tai nodded and looked at his younger brother, who was sitting in a chair across the table from Kari.

"What kind of food do you want, kid?" Tai asked gently, knowing that there was something going on with the boy, but unsure of what it was.

"I don't have any money left," Daisuke lied through the skin of his teeth.

"That's okay, I'll pay for it," the older brother offered. Daisuke opened his mouth, and then closed it, trying to think of something to say that would get him out of eating other than, 'Tai, I'm sick.' There was no other way however, so he did what he could.

"Taco Bell sounds fine. I'll come with you. TK can stay here with Kar." Daisuke shrugged and got to his feet, following the older boys to the Taco Bell line. TK got up from the table and with a few words to Kari, jumped into the Burger King line.

"What can I get for you?" the cashier at Taco Bell asked Tai.

"Let's see, I'll take four Chalupa Bajas, a Mountain Dew, and…what do you want Dais?" He turned back to face his carbon-copy.

"Nachos," was the short reply.

"And an order of the Nachos BellGrande," Tai finished off.

"No."

"What no?"

"Just plain nachos."

"That's it?" Tai gave Daisuke a questioning look. Daisuke nodded and folded his arm back across his stomach.

"And a 7-up would be a good thing too." The cashier totaled everything and Tai handed her the money. They took their order and stood off to the side, waiting for Matt to order and grab his meal. Tai leaned against the wall and gave his brother another skeptical look.

"…what?" Daisuke asked slowly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You lie. You didn't have breakfast this morning and now you ordered a small dinner. What's up?" Daisuke sighed and avoided Tai's eyes.

"If you're going to interrogate me, then I'm going to go sit down," he shot back and grabbed his food, walking away from him and back to his sister. Tai scratched his head briefly and turned to Matt, who had suddenly appeared by his side.

"Troubles?" Matt smirked and the two began to walk back over to the table.

"Yeah…he's not telling me something. And I don't like it."

"Tai, you can't have complete control over both of them."

"You don't get it. You haven't been an older brother for more then what, seven hours? Trust me, it's hard. And I just naturally worry about their well-being is all."

"That's deep man."

"Shut it!" Tai laughed and sat down next to Daisuke, who was across from Kari, who was next to TK who was across from Tai who was next to Matt. Conversation switched around a few times during the meal, all the while both older boys keeping an eye on Daisuke. The youngest was poking at his food blankly, only eating it every now and then when he knew Tai was watching him. Tai's face was suddenly set and he forced Daisuke to look at him.

"All right, what the hell is the matter with you? You are so out of it!" he snapped, the suspense getting to him. Daisuke struggled out of Tai's grip and glared back.

"Just shut up, Tai! It's nothing! For the last damn time, it's nothing!" Kari stood up and moved next to Daisuke, sitting in Tai's lap to look at him.

"You seem stressed out…are you sure everything's okay?" she spoke in a motherly tone, something she apparently had been practicing. Daisuke stared at her and blinked.

"I…I just…" he started to choke out but couldn't get very far in his sentence before all dams broke and he burst into tears. Both Yagami siblings jumped in shock and Kari got off of Tai's lap, allowing Daisuke to have that spot instead. Daisuke toppled into Tai's lap and continued sobbing as Tai instinctively wrapped his arms around him.

"Hey, calm down…what's the matter?" Tai brushed parts of Daisuke's hair out of his eyes.

"He's sick," Matt said from behind him, leaning over Tai's shoulder suddenly.

"Really?" Tai looked at the boy sitting on him and realized that he did look rather pale and drained. "And you couldn't tell me this why?" Tai raised an eyebrow. Daisuke shrugged and sniffed.

"Didn't want you to worry. And it's Christmas…I don't wanna be sick on Christmas." He wiped his eyes and started to catch his breath.

"Like we weren't going to worry when you reacted like this," Kari chided. Tai sent her a look signaling her to hush and looked back at Daisuke.

"Despite how she said it, Kari's right. We would probably worry more about you totally breaking down than if you had just told us," Tai said quietly. Daisuke blinked a few times and nodded.

"Okay then. Tai, I don't feel very well," he moaned slightly and rested his head against his brother's chest. Tai sighed and ruffled Daisuke's hair.

"I think that means it's time to go home," Tai announced and stood up, helping Daisuke stand on his own two feet. His sister, her boyfriend, and his boyfriend also stood up and they all began to walk out of the mall.

Wait…Matt wasn't his boyfriend. Not yet at any rate. But it was nice to dream, wasn't it?

* * *

As soon as the five kids entered the large, and still empty, house, Tai helped Daisuke upstairs and got him settled into bed. 

"And if Mom asks why I'm asleep so early?"

"I'll tell her it's because you want to have enough energy to be a nuisance tomorrow morning." Tai smiled at the tired cinnamon eyes and ruffled the mahogany hair once more.

"Thanks, Tai." Daisuke closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into his pillow.

"Night Dais…hopefully you'll be feeling better by tomorrow," Tai said to him and turned off the lamp, closing the door quietly behind him. Matt was waiting for Tai outside of his room, patiently looking at things on the walls.

"How's he doing?" Matt asked, heading downstairs with Tai.

"He says his stomach's still kind of upset but he feels slightly better now that he's in his own bed. He doesn't have a fever or anything though, so I think he's just stressed about the holidays," Tai repeated the same thing he had told himself earlier.

"What does he have to be stressed about?"

"Nothing really. He just gets really excited and then he'll get really worried about little details and he stresses over things that don't even exist."

"Makes sense."

"Does it really?"

"…no not really." Matt grinned and jumped off the last stair. Tai stuck out his tongue and shook his head.

"That was mean," Tai retorted and walked to the front door, opening it slightly.

"What are you-"

"**Snow!"** Tai screamed in delight. Kari came skidding in from the kitchen with an ice cream spoon in her hand.

"What?" she asked, preparing herself for attack.

"Snow," Tai repeated himself calmly, pointing at the white powder that was floating through the sky and drifting onto the ground.

"Oh…I thought you meant something serious," Kari mocked her brother. Tai's eyes bulged from their sockets and he turned to face Kari with an expression one might have if someone had died a tragic death.

"Kari…it's snow. It **is** serious!" he shouted again.

"Okay fine, I believe you."

"What's going on?" TK came out of the kitchen with a bowl of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

"Snowing." Kari pointed out the door.

"Right on! That's so cool, snow on Christmas," TK repeated what had been said earlier that morning.

"Can we go play in it, Kari? Please?" Tai gave Kari the best puppy eyes he could create.

"Wait, we?" Matt said suddenly.

"Yes, you can go play. TK and I will watch Dais." Kari waved her brother out the door. Tai let out another whoop of delight and jammed on his boots along with his thicker blue jacket.

"C'mon Matt!" Tai grinned and waited for his friend to get dressed to go out too.

"Tai, I'm not a big fan of snow…"

"It'll be fun, please? For me?" Tai turned his puppy eyes onto Matt. The cobalt-eyed teen groaned and tugged on his shoes once more.

"Fine, we'll go play for a little while," he grumbled and slipped on his black jacket.

"Yay!" Tai beamed happily and practically pulled him outside.

"Whoa!" Matt was caught off-guard and almost fell face-first into the snow.

"It's 8:30, guys! Be back by ten!" Kari hollered after them and shut the door. Tai waved and the two boys began walking down the street, one knowing the way and the other following for the hell of it.

"Where are we even going?" Matt asked finally.

"You'll see. Patience, Yama-sama." Tai's eyes sparkled as he continued walking.

"Yama-sama?"

"Eh, it rhymed."

"Dork."

"Dork with a spork!"

"Really?"

"Meet Bob." Tai reached into his pocket and pulled out a white plastic spork. A look of amusement crossed Matt's face and he snickered.

"Hello, Bob."

"Bob loves you!"

"Tai, get that stupid spork away from my face!"

"Aw, but you'll make Bob sad!"

"Bob can go burn!"

"Be nice to Bob!"

"Stupid Bob."

"Bob says you're stupid too, Yama-sama."

"Stop calling me that! Oh wow…I'm talking to a spork."

"Hee, welcome to Taichi's World of Insanity!"

"God, how do I escape?"

"**You don't!"** Matt took one look at the deranged look on his friend's face and burst into laughter. Of course, it was hard **not** to laugh around Tai; he was just so…well, funny. Tai erased the crazed look and laughed as well, leading Matt into an area with lots of trees.

"Where are we, Tai?" the American asked the brunet. Tai stepped in front of him and waved his arm behind him.

"This is Odaiba Park. The snow's still fresh…nobody's been out here for hours, including dogs!"

"No yellow snow then. How wonderful."

"Exactly! Come on!" Tai grabbed Matt's wrist and began to run forward, dragging Matt behind him like a puppy.

"Ow, jeeze!" Matt protested and began running on his own. Tai grinned and flopped down on a clean patch of snow.

"What are you doing?"

"Makin' a snow angel. You should try it, it's fun!" Tai repeated himself.

"You think anything that has to do with snow is fun."

"Well it is!" Tai sat up carefully and climbs out of his angel, examining his masterpiece.

"We-ell, your turn!" Tai declared and knocked Matt to the ground so he was flat on his back.

"Fine, if I make the stupid angel, will you be happy?" Tai nodded assertively and waited. With a sigh, Matt laid down with his arms and legs pressed close to him and began to spread them apart, making a decent snow angel.

"That should be good, Matt," Tai spoke, perfectly happy about getting his way. He walked over and held out a hand, helping his light friend up. The two boys stood back and looked over their angels.

"Well, your angel has a bush for a head just like you do!" Matt gave Tai a cheeky smile.

"Hey!"

"The truth hurts man, the truth hurts."

"You shall meet your maker!"

"What?" Tai flew through the air and landed on Matt, knocking him over again. The two boys wrestled around in the snow, but not aggressively like they had been a few months ago. The match ended about 20 feet from their original spot, with Tai on top of Matt, both of them covered in snow and red in the cheeks.

"Told you the snow was fun," Tai whispered. Matt nodded and stared into Tai's eyes. Having him sleep in the same bed was pushing his luck, but with him on top of him? That was way too much. So he did what came natural to him: he slipped his hand into his pocket once more.

Tai stared back at Matt, eyes enticed by the dazed cobalt orbs. He knew that he should take his chance and run with it right now. They were alone, it was quiet and dark, and he was on the top.

What better setting was there for a kiss?

Slowly, Tai leaned in further, but not enough to startle Matt. However, Matt seemed all but anxious, watching, and waiting. Tai's lips were soon hovering over Matt's own and he bent down the finally few centimeters.

"Woof!" A deep bark came from behind the two boys.

"Shit!" Tai shouted and rocketed off of Matt, who also had scrambled away from the dog.

"Okay…really big dog…middle of a dark park."

"**Now** look who's rhyming."

"Shut up, Tai, this is serious!"

"Wait a second." Tai stood up and wandered closer to the dog.

"Tai! What are you doing?" Tai ignored Matt's hushed whispers and stood in front of the dog, coming nose to nose with the German Shepard.

"Rambo?" he questioned, poking the dog in the nose. Rambo barked cheerfully and licked Tai's face.

"You know the dog?" Matt cautiously walked closer.

"This is Sora's dog," Tai replied, patting Rambo on the head.

"Rambo!" Sora's voice was heard off in the distance.

"Speaking of, there she is," Tai chuckled and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Sora! Over here!" his voice echoed through the empty park. The girl soon emerged from another area, dressed in an outfit similar to Tai's, only the outfit was grey with blue paw prints.

'_Must be a school thing.'_ Matt thought vaguely.

"Hey, Tai! Rambo! You rascal, why'd you take off, huh?" Sora knelt by her dog and rubbed his neck.

"He decided it would be fun to scare us shitless," Tai replied with a look of mock-anger.

"Aw, how sad. I missed it!" She smirked.

"Rude!" Tai pouted. Sora rolled her eyes and smiled at Matt.

"Hey Matt, how are you?" she greeted him.

Was this the same girl he had met back in November?

"I'm doing great, you?"

"Wonderful. It's Christmas, it's snowing, and my family's all home for the holidays," she said in delight, scratching Rambo behind the ears.

"That's great, Sora," Tai rejoined the conversation.

"Yep. What are you two doing out here so late? It's nearly 9:30," she questioned the males, both of whom couldn't think of how to respond. Matt gave Tai a pointed look which was rewarded with Tai's helpless look.

"Tai decided he wanted to go play in the snow," Matt came up with a half-way decent excuse and brushed some white powder from his hair.

"Sounds like Tai."

"Yep!" Tai saluted the two of them with two fingers.

"Dork!" both other teens said simultaneously.

"With a spork!"

"Oh, please leave Bob in your pocket, Tai. It's Christmas," Sora begged her brunet friend.

"You've met Bob too?" Matt asked.

"I was there when Bob first came into existence." Sora's face fell into a look of disbelief. Suddenly, Rambo started barking again and ran off, chasing after something.

"Rambo!" Sora called after her dog who kept on running.

"Don't worry about it, Sor, I'll track him down," Matt assured the redhead and took off running after Rambo, yelling his name and other obscenities. Sora grinned and turned to Tai.

"Good boy."

"What'd you do?" Tai questioned his female company.

"I just gave Rambo a little pinch on the ear. He knows that means to run for about ten minutes before coming back."

"**Why?"**

"Because I trained him that way, and because I wanted to talk to you alone."

"About what?" Tai felt like he was asking too many questions and sat on the snow-covered bench. Sora sat next to him and grinned.

"How are things coming along between you and Mato?" She used yet another version of Matt's name in addressing the issue of the blond boy.

"Well, slowly but surely. I don't know, Sora. Although what you did the last time we saw you did kind of give him a kick in the butt."

"Why?"

"He asked if I liked you. Then I said I'd rather be with him then you, no offense by the way, and he seemed totally satisfied."

"Glad I could be of **some** help," Sora teased her childhood friend.

"Always."

"So like…have you done anything yet?"

"Well…no. I've been really touchy around him lately…and we slept in the same bed two nights ago." Tai's face began to heat slightly at the memory.

"Whoa!"

"No, not like that! He had a nightmare, so I was all comforting about it. And we **were** about to kiss before Rambo decided to jump in." Tai glared at the girl slightly.

"Sorry, he was being a pest, so Mom made me go out to walk him. He got away from me."

"Oh well. But the thing is, he was going to let me." Tai's eyes danced in front of Sora.

"Really?"

"He wasn't even protesting the fact that I kept getting closer. My gosh, do you know what this means?"

"He was too shocked to move?"

"Maybe…I was more hoping for the fact that he likes me too!" Tai fought back the urge to squeal like a schoolgirl.

"Tai, just be careful okay? We don't need another Haru incident."

"I know. But Matt would never be like Haru, ever."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again, that's all. You know that, right?" Tai nodded and trapped Sora in a friendly and tight hug.

"I know. I appreciate it a lot too. You were always there for me during the whole Haru-saga, and I shouldn't have dragged you through it too." Sora returned the hug and waved off his comment.

"That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right." The two sat in silence, waiting for Rambo and Matt to return.

"So, do you plan on moving in on him again?"

"Let's just say, by the end of break, I'm hoping I can call him mine."

"I'll be the first to know, won't I?"

"Well, besides Daisuke, and maybe Kari if she's being good. Otherwise, of course."

Sora giggled slightly and noticed Rambo running back through the distance. "Good to know," she stated and stood up, watching Rambo and Matt run closer. The boy and dog arrived on the scene, the dog wagging his tail like mad, and the boy panting from the long-distance running.

"Well, that was fun." Matt smiled weakly and brushed the beads of sweat from his eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't think he would keep running for so long." Sora absentmindedly stroked Rambo's fur.

"That's okay; I needed the exercise to stay sexy." Matt winked. Sora giggled again and nodded.

"Oh yeah, we couldn't have an anti-sexy Ishida, now could we?"

"Nope!" Matt agreed whole-heartedly. Sora grinned and gave each boy one last hug.

"Night guys, and Merry Christmas!" She waved at them and started jogging off with Rambo.

"Bye, Sora! Merry Christmas!" both boys shouted at her retreating form. Tai rolled up his sleeve and looked at his watch.

"It's almost 10. We better go." Tai shook out his hair and sent little water droplets flying.

"All right, fine by me," Matt replied and they started walking back the direction they came.

"Was that really Sora?" Matt asked.

"Of course it was. Why?" Tai slipped his hands into his coat pocket.

"It just didn't seem like her. That's all."

"Oh." Tai smiled, knowing what he was referring to. The two boys reached the Yagami-Motomiya household and quietly stepped inside, toeing off their shoes and peeling off their jackets.

"Everybody's already asleep?" Tai questioned.

"It's Christmas Eve, Tai. Santa only comes when everyone's asleep," Matt joked as they made their way upstairs.

"…who?"

"Oh you're kidding!"

"Nope."

"Okay, Santa. Santa Clause? Ho ho ho?"

"What is it with people calling me a ho? Do I **really** look that slutty?" Tai ran a hand through his hair.

"No! Tai, listen. In America, children believe in this guy named Santa Clause. He wears a red suit, lives in the North Pole, have eight reindeer, well nine if you count Rudolph, and he goes around the world delivering everybody's Christmas presents!" Matt explained breathlessly. In return, his friend stared at him like he had lost it.

"That's great, Matt." He gave him a thumbs-up and shook his head.

"Never mind."

"Exactly. So, this Santa guy, he brings you any presents you want?"

"Yep."

"Hmm…interesting. Usually it's just my mom who buys us stuff." Tai looked thoughtful for a moment. Matt sighed and shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. Just go to bed; tomorrow's Christmas and you have family coming," Matt reminded the mud-eyed boy while stifling a yawn.

"Exactly. I'm off, good night," Tai beckoned to the American and gave him a light hug, one that Matt awkwardly returned.

"What's up with the hugging?" Matt couldn't help but ask.

"I just feel in a fluffy, hugging mood!"

"Right. G'night." Matt ignored Tai's weirdness and walked into his bedroom across the hall. Tai smiled slightly and walked down the hall towards his sister's room, slowly turning the handle of the door. He found her lying in bed silently with her radio playing in the background and her eyes closed.

"Yep, she's out," Tai chuckled to himself and stepped over to her, watching her closely as he knelt to her level. He never noticed how grateful he was for Kari, even if she did drive him nuts sometimes.

"Guess Christmas can do that to you. Make you feel lucky for what you have," Tai mused on that thought. He bent down and lightly kissed Kari's cheek, smiling to himself when she curled up closer towards him.

"She probably thinks it's TK," he snickered and got up, glancing at her one more time.

"Merry Christmas, Light," he spoke into the darkness and lightly stepped out of Kari's room. He headed back down the hall and carefully turned the doorknob of his own room. He walked in cautiously and closed the door behind him, checking his footing all the way. He stopped over at Daisuke's bed and knelt down, watching his brother breathe. The younger boy was curled into a tight little ball, breathing deeply and evenly. Tai smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Daisuke's ear.

"Merry Christmas, little bro," he whispered and kissed his forehead, rubbing the top of his hair. He stood up and headed for his own bed, crawling under the covers after stripping down to his boxers and slipping on a t-shirt he found on the floor. He let his mind wander briefly and it landed on what Matt had said. That thing about Santa or whatever his name was. He brought people whatever they wanted.

"Dear Santa, for Christmas, I would like Yamato's heart. If you could do that for me, that would be super," he said to no one in particular and closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall asleep.

* * *

TK opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the sudden light. It didn't take long for it to dawn on him that it was Christmas Day. Which meant a multitude of things obviously, but he only had one on his mind for the time being. 

"Presents!" he rejoiced and bounced from his futon onto Matt's bed, causing his brother to topple off.

"What!" He sat up in alarm from his place on the floor with his eyes wide.

"Merry Christmas, older brother of mine!" TK grinned down at him.

"Merry Christmas, Teeks. Get off of my bed," Matt replied and pushed TK off, snuggling back under his covers.

"Oh come on, Matt, get up! It's Christmas morning! Don't you want to open presents and all that crap before Kari's family gets here?" TK persuaded the older boy as he proceeded to tug at the bedding.

"Right. I forgot people were coming over today," Matt sighed and sat up once more, allowing TK to pull him out of the bed.

"So, let's go find those three, exchange presents, and call it good!" TK decided and headed out the door towards Kari's room. Matt shook his head at his brother's eagerness to spend Christmas with his girlfriend and walked across the hall to Tai and Daisuke's bedroom. Opening the door, he plunged into the dark silent room.

Well, save for the booming sounds of Tai's snores.

Stepping over a pair of dirty boxers and slipping on another Playstation manual, he finally made it to Tai's bedside. Leaning down next to his best friend's ear, he grinned mischievously and took a deep breath.

"**Merry Christmas!"** he hollered, resulting in Tai shooting straight up, much like he had earlier that morning.

"Christmas!" Tai exclaimed and scrambled out of bed, digging through his drawers to find a pair of pants. Matt decided to help him out and tossed him the pants he was wearing yesterday. Tai caught the sweatpants with ease and slid them on over his boxers.

"You just like looking at the paw prints, don't you?" the brunet teased the blond.

"Oh yeah, because they are **so **sexy." Matt rolled his eyes and drew up the blinds, flooding the room with sunlight. Tai hissed at the sudden light and shielded his eyes automatically.

"Oh get a grip." Matt clicked his tongue and glanced over at Daisuke's bed, only to realize the youngest wasn't there.

"Where'd your brother go?" he questioned. Tai paused briefly and looked around, a confused look plastered onto his face.

"You know, that's a good question. A very good question," Tai said slowly and trekked out of his room, wandering into his mother's bedroom. Matt followed him closely and they entered, searching all of the area.

"Well, not in here." Tai shrugged and they walked back out, standing in the hall thinking.

"He wouldn't be in Kari's room, would he?" Matt asked, leaning against the wall next to Tai's door.

"Nope, she'd pummel him. And it's too early for him to actually be downstairs…unless he went to play the Playstation," Tai added as an after-thought.

"Sounds possible." Matt nodded in agreement and pushed himself away from the wall. Tai turned as well and the two oldest teens headed down the stairs quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. They walked into the den and saw…nothing. The TV was on Cartoon Network, showing a re-run of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Matt glanced up on the cabinet next to the TV. The clock said it was 7:30am. The throw pillows on the couch were tossed on the floor and in different spots of the couch and the blanket laid in the center in a mess.

"Apparently, he **was **here," Matt stated the obvious. Tai nodded lightly and allowed his eyes to scan the room. They soon landed on the bathroom door which was slightly ajar, allowing the light to stream through the crack. He briskly stepped over to the door, pushing it all the way open. Inside was Daisuke curled up in a ball on the floor, halfway between the door and the toilet and wrapped up in his favorite blanket. Tai suppressed a sigh and walked closer, kneeling down next to his brother.

"Hey, wake up, Dais," he prodded Daisuke, poking at his shoulder. Daisuke whined slightly and moved away from Tai's touch. Tai frowned slightly and shook his gently, finally getting Daisuke to open his eyes.

"What?" he croaked and blinked sleepily.

"It's Christmas morning, kiddo. Time to get up," Tai said in a kind tone, letting Daisuke know he wasn't in any hurry. The young boy sat upright and looked at his surroundings. "What are you doing down here?" Tai asked the undying question. Matt stood in the doorway and watched, deciding to let Tai handle the whole thing.

"I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I came down here to watch TV." Tai nodded and hugged Daisuke from behind.

"What are you doing in **here** then?" he rephrased his question.

"I started feeling sick again," came the reply Tai was expecting. Cautiously, he peered over at the toilet and nearly gagged himself. Shaking his head, he flushed away the contents and looked back at Daisuke.

"More like you **were** sick again."

Daisuke shrugged and nodded. "But I feel better now. I guess I just ended up falling asleep in here because I was so exhausted," he assured his brother, standing up on his own to prove his point. Tai gave him a suspicious look and bit his lip. He had two options. He could either make Daisuke go to bed and tell his mother that he was sick, or he could just let him ignore his illness.

"Look Daisuke, here's what we'll do."

"Hmm?"

"You can stay out of bed for Christmas and see everybody." A grin split onto the round face. "But!" Tai continued, reinstating the fact that there were two ends of the deal.

"But…?" Daisuke repeated.

"As soon as you start feeling sick, at all, or as soon as I notice you're not feeling well, you're going to bed. Agreed?" Daisuke brushed off the brotherly tone and walked past Tai out into the den.

"Yeah sure, whatever," he muttered and ran upstairs to get dressed into something decent. Tai slumped his shoulders in defeat and turned, walking out into the den with Matt.

"Sometimes I worry he's going to get himself killed or something," he voiced his worries and the two boys headed in the same direction as Daisuke.

"He'll be fine. He's a fighter, and he's got a lot of spunk anyway. He's not going to let a little flu slow him down." Matt did his best to cheer Tai up.

"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, are we doing presents with my sibs and your bro right now?"

"That's what TK and I decided on."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Of course it's a good idea, it was my idea," TK said as he and Kari both appeared in the hall at the sounds of their voices. Both teens were fully dressed and ready for company. "We already brought everything into Kari's room, including Daisuke."

"So hurry it up already, everybody's going to be here soon," Kari added and disappeared back into her room. TK and the two boys walked behind her and closed the door, staring at the pile of presents in the middle of Kari's bedroom floor. She sat down next to the stack and began pulling out various packages, delivering them to their recipients.

"Dai, Tai, Tai, Matt, TK, TK, Dai, Dai, Matt, Kari, Kari, Kari, Kari, Tai, Matt." Several small packages flew through the air at each boy who in turn had quite a time trying to catch everything without them breaking.

"Matt, go first!" Kari exclaimed as she tinkered with her packages. Patches nodded and opened the first slightly smaller package.

"Daisuke? When did you buy me something?"

"When you were busy with Tai's," the mahogany-haired boy grinned. Matt ripped off the paper and bit back a smile.

"American Idiot. Smooth man, very smooth."

"I noticed you had the shirt but not the CD and Tai mentioned you liked Green Day so I figured, why not?" Daisuke shrugged slightly.

"Thanks, kid. I was going to buy this sometime after Christmas before we headed back to the Academy." Matt tucked the CD behind him and moved onto the next package. It was smaller then the first, but it's value was more then it's size.

"New strings and picks," he smirked.

"I figured that since you're living with Tai, things **will** get broken." Kari grinned both at Matt and her brother.

"Hey!" Tai pouted. Matt laughed at his friend's expression and moved onto his last package.

"It's not much Matt, but it's really all I could think of," TK spoke up. Matt gave him a puzzling look and ripped open the package, indeed shocked by the contents.

A silver frame made up of rose and vines designs framing a picture of himself, his father, his mother, and a small blanket in his mother's arms, which he presumed was TK. Matt blinked several times and examined the photograph closer. He drew in a deep breath and looked at his brother.

"I just kind of thought you would like it…I asked Mom to send it here…yeah," TK stopped trying to make sense and waited for Matt's reaction. The older boy continued staring at the picture in awe before leaning over and hugging the younger.

"Thank you," he whispered into his ear and pulled away slowly, biting at his lip again. TK nodded and began prodding at his own gifts. He opened the first one and laughed loudly.

"Let me guess. Matt?" he asked as he held up the black fisherman hat.

"Naturally." Matt nodded as he clung to the picture frame. TK opened his last parcel and smiled.

"Well, trying to be romantic, miss?" He smiled at Kari as he pulled out the polar bear with a rose in his mouth hugging a bottle of Hershey's Kisses.

"Am I succeeding?" she countered.

"Always," TK softly kissed her cheek.

"Gross!" Tai shielded his eyes.

"Oh please." Kari rolled her eyes and tossed one of his presents at his head.

"Okay, I get it!" Tai tore into his presents. He first pulled out a hair brush.

"Funny, Kari, very funny." He sent her a mock-glare.

"I thought so," she replied with her own cheesy grin. He opened the next gift from his brother.

"American Idiot?"

"Well, I couldn't really think of what to get you, so I just got you and Matt the same thing." His brother gave him a sheepish grin as a drop of sweat fell down the side of his face.

"I think you're a Japanese Idiot, you know that?" Tai shook his head and unwrapped the last gift. He held the sketchbook in his hands momentarily, blinking in surprise as he opened it, flipping through the pages. He turned it over once he realized he had it backwards and spotted his name engraved in gold.

"How did you know…" he started to say but failed to finish his sentence.

"I just did." Matt grinned impishly.

"It's awesome," Tai breathed out as he felt his fingers already itching to draw. While Tai was busy fawning over his new book, Kari had unwrapped her presents of new memory cards for her digital camera, a box of chocolates, a new camera to go with her memory cards, and a heart-shaped pendant hanging from a sterling silver chain.

Daisuke received a box of chocolates similar to Kari's, Jak 3, and a new memory card for his Playstation. All in all, he was satisfied.

"Well, now that **that's **out of the way, you three need to get dressed. Mom said everybody would be here in an hour," Kari informed her brothers and Matt as she got off of her floor.

"I claim the shower first!" Daisuke shouted and bounced up, darting out of Kari's room and into the main bathroom.

"While you're in there, brush your teeth!" Tai hollered after him and got up as well, helping Matt to his feet. The two older boys grabbed all of their things and headed back into their own rooms to set them down and select their outfits.

Matt propped the picture up next to his temporary bed and sat down, continuing to look it over. The people in the photograph seemed so happy. He himself had a gigantic smile spread across his face.

So why did he feel so miserable?

Oh, he remembered. His family was torn in half, his father was remarried, apparently his mother was remarried, his brother was still practically a stranger to him, and he received nothing from his best friend.

Not that he solely valued presents. But it would have been nice. Maybe Tai didn't appreciate Matt like Matt appreciated Tai. After all, Tai had plenty of other friends. What made him different then any of them? Probably nothing. He sighed to himself and pulled out a nice black long-sleeved shirt that buttoned up the front. He knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. But he did anyway, and now he was paying the price.

'_Live and Learn, Yamato. Just live and learn.'_ He thought idly as he changed into his shirt, leaving the white undershirt he wore on. He wasn't even going to bother showering. He smelt fine and his hair wasn't greasy yet. He kicked off his pajama bottoms and tossed them away, picking up a pair of plain jeans and wriggling into them. Had he gained weight? He sincerely hoped not.

'_That's the last thing I need.'_ he mentally groaned, already feeling the onset of a bad mood. He slipped on a clean pair of socks and stared at his hair. It still fell into his normal spiky style, even without the aid of the gel he usually used. He shrugged to himself and walked away.

'_Not like it matters anyway.'_ He descended the stairs and found Daisuke in the den once more, already plugged into his newest game.

"Hey Matt," he greeted him briefly as he blew up another enemy.

"Hey," Matt said softly, leaning back into the couch and staring blankly at the screen. His thoughts were still racing around in circles. Why did he really care about his value in Tai's eyes? What did it matter? He only did things to please himself. Forget trying to please anybody else.

Then again, all along, he knew he had been trying to win Tai's approval, hence him wearing normal pants instead of his black baggy ones. Daisuke remained oblivious to Matt's distress and left the American to stew in his own negativity. No sooner then that, Tai came bounding into the room, dressed in his usual pair of jeans and a red T-shirt that stated the words, _'Keep Staring and I Might Do A Trick'_ finished off with a pair of white cotton socks on his feet.

"Hey you guys, Mom and Michael want us up on the main level. Everybody's supposed to be here in ten minutes," he relayed the message to his brother and best friend, still grinning cheerfully. Daisuke put his game on pause and looked at Tai curiously.

"Dad's home?"

"Yeah. Guess so." Tai shrugged. Daisuke grinned slightly and got up, walking away from the game without a second thought. Matt had yet to move from his seat however and continued to stare at the frozen picture.

"Hey, buddy, c'mon. Everybody's upstairs," Tai called out to the boy, still standing by the stairway. Matt turned his head nonchalantly and stared at Tai, rising to his feet and joining him by the stairs.

'_Don't let on that you're bothered and maybe you can make it through the day.'_ He reassured himself as they climbed the three stairs, Matt staring at his feet and Tai staring at Matt. He instantly knew something was wrong in his best friend's world, but he figured it would be best to leave it alone before he ruined the holiday for both of them. Matt continued staring at the ground when he suddenly ran into somebody.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized automatically and raised his eyes, looking at a face he wasn't familiar with. The man appeared to be in his late 40s with light brown hair and eyes to match. Almost a cinnamon color actually. Matt stopped thinking and back-tracked on that thought. He looked closer at the eyes and realized that they were the same as Daisuke's.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked him, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"He's one of my friends, Michael. Mom said he could stay here for Christmas," Tai quickly explained and walked away, pulling Matt along behind him. Matt pulled away from Tai's grip and gave him a strange look.

"That's Dais's dad?"

"Yeah, terrible isn't it?" Tai smirked.

"He doesn't seem very…nice," Matt put it bluntly.

"He's not. That's why he has a job where we rarely have to see him." The doorbell rang then, cutting off Tai's miniature rant. He headed into the front hall where Ami stood, dressed in a pair of nice white pants and a blue blouse and opened the door. On the other side stood a woman who appeared to be an older version of Ami with black hair instead of the light brown. Next to her was a slightly taller man with deep brown, almost black eyes and navy blue hair and behind them were three boys, all lugging different piles of presents. The two older-looking boys looked like the mother and were built pretty decently, carrying the most presents into the Yagami-Motomiya household. The youngest was slightly scrawny and had the father's features, right down to the blue hair. His glasses kept slipping down the bridge of his nose as he tried to maneuver his way into the door with a particularly large box.

"Tai, stop standing there gawking and help Jyou! Jeeze," Ami commanded her oldest. Tai sprung into action and grabbed the box from Jyou, setting it down in the sitting room where the Christmas tree was.

"It's so wonderful to see you, Ami!" Chiyo Kido embraced her younger sister.

"Always a pleasure, Chiyo! Merry Christmas." Ami returned the embrace. She turned around and took a deep breath.

"**Kids, get out here!"** her voice echoed throughout the house. TK, Kari, and Daisuke all entered the front all in mere seconds.

"Ami, when did you and Michael have two more kids?" Chiyo's husband Rikyu questioned his sister-in-law.

"Oh, those are Tai and Kari's friends. Matt and TK," Ami pointed out each blonde.

"Pleasure to meet you both," Chiyo said in a pleasant tone. Rikyu nodded in their direction. Ami turned to the five kids and waved towards the other end of the house.

"Why don't you take your cousins down to the den until dinner's ready?" she suggested, already heading into the kitchen with her sister.

"Sure Mom. Come on guys." Tai motioned for everybody to follow him. The five kids, along with the three brothers, headed into the den and sprawled out wherever they felt comfortable.

"All right, just for Matt and TK, this is Shin." Tai pointed to the oldest Kido brother.

"Shuu." Kari pointed to the middle child.

"And Jyou." Daisuke pointed out the last brother.

"Great to see you three finally have friends," Shin joked.

"Hey now! It's Christmas. Don't make me have to kick your ass," Kari joked right back.

"Hey Dais, mind if I turn off the PS2?" Shuu asked, already half-way through the process. Daisuke sighed and shrugged.

"I suppose not."

"Cool because there's a basketball game on that I wanna catch," Shuu replied and flipped through the channels.

"Really? Who's playing?" TK asked eagerly, turning his focus to the TV.

"It's an American game, Lakers vs. Sonics."

"Who cares, it's basketball!" TK jumped onto the couch next to Shuu and began watching the game.

"Oh god," Kari sighed.

"Basketball fanatic?" Shin asked the only female in the room.

"Yep. Very much so," She replied.

"Oh well, you get used to it." Shin smiled. Kari giggled and nodded.

"Are you still studying to be a doctor, Shin?"

"Yeah, I just started this section on open-heart surgery." Matt decided that it would be the best thing to tune out the rest of **that** conversation and focused on who was left. He noticed that Daisuke had slipped out of the room at some point, leaving him with Tai and Jyou.

"So, how ya been, Joe?" Tai referred to Jyou by his nickname.

"Pretty good I guess. Although cold and flu season is picking up. Do you know how many places you can pick up germs? And the snow! I practically broke my back when I slipped on the ice." Tai shook his head and grinned strangely.

"Same old Jyou," he confirmed.

"Did you really expect anything less, Tai?"

"No…"

"You really need to learn inside of reality."

"Why, it's no fun."

"It's not about being fun."

"Is too!"

"No!" Matt sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes briefly as the bantering continued.

'_This could go on for a while.'_

* * *

Dinner was just ending, and Matt wasn't sure how much longer he could possibly last. Tai had disappeared off to somewhere in the middle of the meal, leaving him with a bunch of strangers, his brother, and his best friend's younger siblings. 

Oh yeah, this was **really **fun.

Just when he thought he was going to explode, Ami announced that they could all be excused from the table. It was 6pm and the company wouldn't be leaving for another two hours. As soon as he could, he pushed himself out of his chair and dashed up the stairs, leaving Kari and Daisuke to entertain their cousins. He felt sorry for his brother for a moment, leaving him behind with all of the strangers.

Then he realized that it wasn't his problem and that he didn't care.

He came to the landing and walked towards his room. He stopped though shortly before the door. Was that Christmas music he heard? He walked closer and listened, instantly recognizing the tune Jingle Bell Rock. Curiosity getting the best of him, he pushed the door open and his eyes widened, taking in everything he was seeing.

The room was lit with many tiny candles, vanilla-scented candles as a matter of fact. Gold confetti was strewn all over the floor and furniture and crystal snowflakes hung along the walls and across the window. Silver garland and tinsel laced everything in the room, catching the light from the candles and sparkling brightly. His gaze drifted over to the bed and it was then he saw the best part.

Lying on his bed with his head propped up was Tai, but not just ordinary Tai. This Tai was dressed up wearing a short-sleeved red velvet shirt with white faux fur on the collar and sleeves, along with a hood in the back. The shirt was a mid-drift shirt, so it revealed plenty of his toned abs, along with his silver bellybutton ring. That thing still looked pretty stupid in Matt's point of view, but it was Tai's choice, not his. For bottoms, Tai had on a pair of red shorts made of the same velvet material with white fur on the bottom and two strings hanging down to tighten the shorts, each with a little white fluff ball at the end.

It took him a few moments to register the fact that what Tai was wearing on the bottom was not a pair of shorts, but actually a very short skirt. Why hadn't he cut a hole in the pocket of these jeans? This most definitely wouldn't be easy.

"Well, Merry Christmas, Yamato," Tai said coyly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up.

"Tai, what are you doing?" Matt asked curiously, unsure of whether to be freaked out or turned on.

"Being Santa's helper," Tai used the same dominating tone, stepping closer to Matt.

"I thought you didn't know who Santa **was**."

"Oh no, I knew who he was. Just didn't know what he did," Tai corrected him and stopped right before him, pinning both of his hands on either side of Matt on the bedroom door. "But now that I know, I can help out with his Christmas duties," he whispered.

"What do you plan on doing?" Matt felt his own voice go lower.

"You'll just have to see, now won't you?" Tai moved away and walked over to the closet, bending down to look for something inside. Matt's eyes followed and widened once he realized how short the skirt really was

'_Don't look at his ass, don't look at his ass, don't look at his ass.'_ He continued this repetitive chant in his mind, a chant the proved to be of no help.

'_Oh screw it, it's Christmas! Indulge yourself!'_ Irrational came back for a visit. And for once, he decided to listen. However, Tai soon stood up and slung a brown bag over his shoulder, walking back towards Matt with his black boots clicking on the floor. Dropping the bag in front of Matt, he grinned a well-polished sexy grin.

"Santa told me you've been a very good boy this year. That may be something I'll have to change," Tai's voice switched from airy to husky.

"Really now?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"You can't be nice all year around." Tai winked and shoved the bag closer. Taking it as a sign, Matt opened the bag and pulled out his present.

"Tai you **can't** be serious!" Matt gasped in awe at the sleek black guitar case.

"I noticed you didn't have one. So I bought one. Stuck on the stickers, etcetera." Tai grinned, fully pleased that Matt liked his present.

"It's beautiful!" Matt squeaked and looked over all of the stickers.

"Linkin Park, Green Day, AFI, Story of the Year, Anti-Flag, The Used, you are so totally cool!" Matt exclaimed.

"Something I'm naturally good at." Tai wiggled his eyebrows and twirled one of the drawstrings around on his finger.

"Why didn't you give it to me this morning?"

"I'm not done yet. That's just from Santa. Santa's helper needs to give his present."

"Which would be?" Matt looked up suddenly. Tai smirked and his eyes filled with lust once more.

"I'm so glad you asked," he said before diving into cold water, pressing his lips to Matt's firmly. Matt didn't struggle to pull away, but he didn't really respond either. How was he supposed to? He was in too much shock to even think straight, let alone control his tongue. Slowly, Tai pulled away and grinned.

"Merry Christmas, Yamato," he spoke once again and walked out of Matt's room with his boots clicking away, leaving him in his daze and confusion. As soon as he closed the door, he slid down to the ground with his back against it, head spinning from the sudden events. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and he opened the guitar case to see how much space was available.

He found that there was plenty, but he also found a small box tucked at one end. He should have known that his curiosity was going to lead to something bizarre by this point, but he didn't really give a damn. He grabbed the box and flipped it over. A sticky note was attached to the front, written in Tai's blocky handwriting.

'_Don't go using them all in one night there, sexy. –Tai.'_ He read to himself before ripping away the paper.

"Oh great!" he half-laughed, half-groaned. A box of condoms. Tai had given him a box of condoms, a 12-pack at that. He shook his head and suddenly felt his nose itch. He wiped at it and threw the condoms back into the guitar case. A wet drop fell onto his hand, followed by another, and another. It suddenly dawned on him what was going on.

"Shit!" he yelped and darted out of his bedroom and into the bathroom, rapidly ripping off some toilet paper and pressing it to his nose.

"Where's a tampon when you need one?" he cursed at himself and moved over to the sink. He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed that his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were still wide. He also noticed a few extra…minor details he had been trying not to let show throughout the day. He sighed and took away the paper when he thought it was safe. His nose was now raw, but at least it had stopped bleeding. Still panting slightly, Matt ran some cold water in the sink and splashed his face, calming himself down and taking away some of the heat he felt.

"Well then, jingle all the way," he muttered to himself and walked out of the bathroom, turning out the light behind him.

* * *

Again, this has been edited. But I'm reminded why this is one of my favorite chapters. It was so fun to write! And y'know that thing I said about never seeing a chapter as long as 31 pages from me in forever? Yeah…44 minus author's notes! Well, just think of it as a very nice Christmas present, huh? And if you didn't get a few things, go back and re-read the other chapters because I did some heavy editing, especially in chapter four. So yeah, happy holidays everybody! 

Thanks to: **kalizuta**, DawnAurilain, **Prince Izzy,** I-L-K, **Mistress of Weird**, Gondawara Saburota, **LGF**, Octavo, **GtaJake MK-II**, LadyK Na-No-Da, **TheSchizoFrenchFry**, Sei Kou Ki, **Blue Tajiri**, SnakeMistress, **YugiYamiforever**, Melissa-T, **nEo-cHaN**, Aero-Grrl, **KitsuneAkai13**, The Kaizeress, **Squrlie Jack**, Dreamcrafter, **essenceofthedark**, desperateforu2update, **hipa**, Scoodoo58, **Gohan Hugger**, and Burning Angemon.

Trust the Fox.


	9. Cheer

_**Give me envy, give me malice, give me attention. Give me envy give me malice, baby, give me a break.**_

**_-Time to Dance, Panic! At the Disco_**

* * *

The first thing he felt was the warmth of the sunlight streaming in through the window above his bed, spreading out across the bedspread and warming his toes. The second thing he felt wasn't quite as pleasant however. 

"Will you **stop** poking me?" Matt asked in an irritable tone as he lifted his head to glare at his younger brother, who was currently standing above him, prodding his left arm with his index finger.

"Well I could have been meaner and dumped a bunch of cold water on you. Would you have preferred that?" TK replied smoothly and drew his hand away, folding his arms and watching the boy in the bed. Matt blinked a few times, trying to rid himself of the excess sleep and let out a yawn as he sat up.

"I think I'll stick with the poking." He nodded and rubbed at his nose. He rubbed at it again, starting to feel a little frustrated at how badly it itched. Not to mention how…raw it was…after last night. All of the memories from the previous evening suddenly hit him like a bullet train and his jaw fell ajar in addition to his eyes widening involuntarily as one solid thought stuck in his mind.

'_Oh shit.'_

"Did you even hear **anything** I just said?" TK rudely interrupted his panicky bubble as he stared at him in an expectant manner.

"No, probably not. Can you repeat it?" Matt asked lightly in attempt to forget about last night.

"I said that it's 8am and you need to get dressed and packed," TK repeated himself once more. Matt nodded in reply and swung himself out of the warmth of his bed, striding over to his bag of clothing. It was only when he got that far did TK's words sink in.

"Pack? Pack for **what?**" He raised an eyebrow and stopped rummaging through his things, giving the younger blond his full attention.

"Kari has a cheerleading competition that starts tomorrow and we're all going so we have to leave today because her team is meeting down there and the competition runs until the 30th so…yeah," TK trailed off. The older blue eyes blinked rapidly and gave the younger boy a confused and dazed look.

"Where?"

"Kyoto. About three hours from here. So get dressed and all that fun shit," TK ended the conversation abruptly and bounced out of the room.

"Most likely to go find Kari," Matt muttered to himself and resumed to shifting through his articles of clothing in attempt of finding something decent to wear. At the rate he was going however, it wasn't going to be an easy task. In the silence of the bedroom, his thoughts easily drifted back to his brunet companion and what exactly had happened between them.

What had happened was not something that happened between most best friends.

He dropped the pair of dark red pants he held in his hand onto the floor and quickly darted out of his room, charging into the room across the hall. He frantically began poking around the bedding on the right side of the room.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he exclaimed when he came up clueless with no idea where Tai would be.

"Can I help you?" a puzzled voice asked quietly from behind him, causing the older boy to jump in alarm. He whirled around and spotted a pair of cinnamon eyes blinking at him curiously.

"Oh wow! Dais, I'm so sorry! Did I wake you up?" Matt rambled on all in one breath. The other boy merely blinked in return and raised his eyebrow, rewarding Matt with a look of pure puzzlement.

"No…but you're starting to freak me out. What's your deal?" he asked the patched one, propping himself up with his elbows.

"Look, forget what I'm flipping out about, I just need to talk to your brother, like, a-sap." Matt ran both hands through his golden locks, praying silently that Daisuke didn't have Tai's talent of reading thoughts.

"A-sap?"

Well, apparently he didn't have to worry about the youngest Yagami-Motomiya sibling's brains getting in the way of his quest.

"My way of saying asap, which is short for as soon as possible, which is how soon I need to talk to Tai!" Matt flailed his arms around suddenly, loosing grip on his patience.

"Well I knew what it meant. I mean, I'm not that stupid. But why didn't you just say asap instead of wasting time saying a-sap? Actually, if you think about it, saying a-sap saves more time." Daisuke stopped talking to ponder this concept. Matt groaned and shook his head, turning on his heel and stiffly walking towards the door.

"Never mind, Daisuke, I'll go find him myself!" He shook his head and darted out of the room, leaving behind a contemplative, and now very much awake, Daisuke. Not thinking twice about it, he raced down the hall and barged into Kari's room.

"Hey!" the surprised female shouted and covered her bare chest with the shirt in her hands. Matt's eyes widened for the second time in the past 15 minutes and he squeaked.

"Sorry!" He turned instantly and shut the door, leaning against the wall next to it.

'_Okay, normally, any guy would want to get a view of that rack. But, that was just like…who cares? Somehow, I don't think that's a normal reaction.'_ He sighed to himself and scuffed his foot along the carpet. The bedroom door opened a short time later and a slightly peeved Hikari poked her head out.

"**Now** you may come in," she said to the blond boy and disappeared back into the room, leaving Matt to follow after her.

"Kari, I am **really** sorry. My brain wasn't fully awake and I just spaced right through knocking," Matt profusely apologized as he stepped into the room. Kari snickered slightly in return and began to shove different articles of clothing into a blue and white duffel bag.

"Oh don't worry about it. It could have been worse."

"How so?"

"Well. I could have been braless, and you could have been TK," she rationalized and zipped up the bag.

"…my brother isn't a pervert, is he?" the blond asked warily as he watched Kari dive into her closet while avoiding the many random items that fell out.

"No! Thankfully, I mean if he was, well, he wouldn't be my boyfriend anyway," she laughed from inside the hole in the wall, coming out with a pair of white tennis shoes.

"Right…"

"Well he wouldn't and he knows it. Besides, it'd be one step further, and I **know** your brother isn't ready for that kind of thing." She slipped the shoes into her bag and sat on the bed to tie up her regular shoes.

"You're the dominant one, aren't you?" Matt leaned against the wall behind him and watched the younger girl.

"Damn straight!" she replied with a wink and a wide grin, causing him to chuckle at her antics.

"Tai was right, you are pretty cool."

"What exactly did you expect?"

"Well, when he said cheerleader…I kind of thought…y'know…"

"Air-head?" Kari filled in the blanks and bounced off her bed, donning the blue jacket with white stripes on the sleeves onto her petite frame.

"Yeah, to be blunt about it."

"Some of us are rather air-headed, but if you can look past that, they're actually pretty nice. Always good for a laugh too. Like this one time, my friend Noriko had a packed lunch for one of our away games and she pulled out this can of Chicken of the Sea right? So she looks at it for a little while, and then she says, 'Is it chicken, or is it fish?' It was grand," Kari rambled on and on as she stood in front of her vanity, carefully applying silver eye shadow, black eyeliner, and a hint of body glitter.

"Well then…I'd ask questions, but I really need to find your brother. Do you know where he went?"

"Which one?"

"Tai. He wasn't in his room when I went to talk to him this morning."

"Oh, he's out front. Mom wanted him to shovel the front walk and the driveway before we went anywhere. That way Michael doesn't have to do it." The last sentence was spoken in a tone that was laced with disgust.

"Why doesn't he just do it himself? It wouldn't take that long." Matt raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his bare chest.

"Because Michael's an ass. No other reason."

"Hmm." Matt didn't really know what else he could have said. Kari nodded and reached into one of the drawers next to her. She rattled around for a few moments before pulling her hand back out and coming up with a tube of lip gloss.

"What do you need to find him for anyway?" she asked the blond and began to dab on the strawberry-flavored gloss. Matt shook his head and pushed himself away from the wall, turning around and heading out of the room.

"Just need to talk to him. Thanks for telling me!" He waved over his shoulder and darted down the stairs, grabbing his black jacket off of the rack in the front hall. He jammed on his Converse sneakers and wrenched open the front door without bothering to tie them up. He ran outside and spotted Tai down the sidewalk, shoveling scoops of snow into the yard behind him. He jogged up next to him and grinned.

"Hiya!" he chirped, causing the brunet boy to jump and swing back with his shovel. "Whoa, watch it!" Matt protested and jumped over the metal scoop, stepping a few steps away from Tai.

"Oh, it's just you. Sorry, I thought…never mind, hi." The Japanese boy grinned uneasily and drove the shovel into the snow, leaning against the pole with his arm and placing his other hand on his hip.

"Didn't mean to scare you," Matt informed him and shoved his own hands into the pockets of his jacket. Tai shrugged and waved a hand.

"I was just so focused on what I was doing; I didn't even hear you walk up behind me, that's all."

"Oh. Well, can we talk?" the blue-eyed boy asked in a hopeful tone as he began to tug Tai towards the front porch.

"Sure. Inside?"

"Do you mind?"

"Is this talk about something personal?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, I mind. But we can just sit on the porch," Tai suggested and walked over to one of the chairs decorating the wooden platform.

"Thankfully the porch is covered so snow doesn't get on the furniture," Matt replied and sat in the next chair. Once they were both comfortable, Tai leaned on his knees and looked into Matt's eyes.

"Now, what is so important that we need to talk about?" He grinned widely to show that he was just joking. However, Matt was anything **but** joking about this whole manner. He took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Right. Okay, so last night."

"Last night…" Tai repeated him, urging him to continue.

"Last night, you…I mean we…no you…um…" Matt stumbled over his words momentarily as his thoughts raced around in circles.

"Just spit it out already!" Tai rubbed his eyes in irritation and poked the American in the shoulder.

"Last night, you kissed me, and I wasn't really comfortable that you did that," Matt finally managed to blurt out, looking up at Tai for some sort of reaction. What he saw was the grin melt away from his best friend's face and reform into a confused thin line.

"…what are you talking about?"

"You! Last night, you gave me my Christmas present and you were wearing a skirt and this mid-drift shirt and you threw in a box of condoms and then you kissed me!" Matt exclaimed and subconsciously tugged on a lock of black hair. At first, he had expected Tai to stutter in denial. His second thoughts were that the mud-eyed boy would just say that yes he was homosexual and he liked the kiss.

But never did he expect Tai to begin to laugh. Loudly for that matter.

"Where did you get **that** idea? Did you eat something that gives you weird dreams or **what?**" he choked out between peals of laughter, causing the blond to go deeper into his cycle of insistence.

"It's true! I remember because I-" said blond stopped himself in mid-sentence when he ran over what he was going to say in his mind. He couldn't let Tai know that he had actually been turned on by that! Not only would it spell sheer and utter embarrassment, he didn't want to give Tai the wrong idea.

"Because you what?" Tai raised an eyebrow, trying his hardest to keep his neutral façade in check. If Matt was really that uncomfortable with the kiss, then there's no telling what else he would have to say if Tai told him he had a crush on him.

Yes, he had come to this conclusion that morning. He wasn't in love: it was just a crush. There was a difference. Either way, if the blond was that uncomfortable about it, the best thing to do was exercise his natural gift: the ability to confuse people.

"Because I remember your lips tasted like strawberry!" Matt accused, showing almost no signs of giving in to the argument. He was not going to let Tai just get away with this. If he had to, he would find evidence and back him into a corner. Then he'd **have** to confess to everything.

"Matt, get over it. I did not kiss you. My lips were not fruity, I wasn't a cross-dresser, and this was all some wacky dream you had."

"No. I can prove it to you!" Matt jumped out of his chair and began trekking back towards the front door.

"Really. How can you prove something that never happened?" Tai pushed himself out of his own chair and followed his friend.

"That skirt is still probably in your closet!"

"Yeah, go ahead and search, pal! You won't find **anything**."

"Watch me!"

"Wish I could, but I have to finish the front walk. I'll meet you in there though. Take all the time you need to search my room," Tai offered and shoved Matt through his front door, shutting it in his face and jumping off of the porch. He waited for a brief moment and looked inside through the window to the left of the door, watching Matt jog up the stairs and out of sight. Turning on his heel, he flew off the steps and down the street about four houses down, pouncing onto the round porch and jamming the doorbell into its socket. The door soon swung open and there stood Sora, still clad in her blue pajama bottoms with stars on them and yellow tank top that matched.

"What are you doing here this early?"

"Good morning to you too, Love." Tai grinned at her and stepped around her, sashaying his way into the Takenouchi living room. "Are your parents home?" he called over his shoulder as an after-thought.

"Still sleeping actually," Sora replied as she followed Tai around her house. They both ended up in the kitchen after going in a small circle, Sora making her breakfast and Tai watching her closely.

"So what's up?" she asked calmly, already having a clue what exactly was up.

"Ugh! Last night went perfect as planned!" Tai began his story and laid his head on his folded arms.

Yup, just as she suspected.

"So what's the problem?"

"He was 'uncomfortable' about it. He confronted me about it this morning."

"And what did you say?" Sora listened with one ear while she popped her bagel out of the toaster and smothered it with cream cheese.

"I had to lie and say that he was dreaming. Sora, what am I going to do! If he's freaking out about a kiss, how would he react if I said I was infatuated with him?" Tai said with a slight whine in his tone, looking up at Sora's figure with his large puppy-dog eyes.

"Well, did you give him any warning last night when you kissed him?"

"…not really."

"That's probably why he freaked," she sighed and shook her head.

'_The drama of a bi-guy.'_ She let him ramble on for a few moments about how his life would soon be over and he'd be unhappy and how he still had to room with him for the rest of the school year. She waited as long as she could before she slammed her hand over his mouth, silencing him so she could speak.

"Look, Tai, just take some time to get things back to normal. Then warn him **beforehand** and then tell him you're bi. What did you tell him as an excuse to come and tell me all of this?"

"I didn't. He's searching my room for evidence about last night, none of which he'll find at any rate."

"Why?"

"The lip gloss is in Kari's room, I cleaned up all of the glitter and put away the candles last night after he fell asleep, he sleeps like a rock by the way, and of course this." Tai stopped talking and stood up, removing his jacket and setting it aside. He was wearing the mid-drift top and the mini-skirt over his jeans, both items slightly wrinkled. Thankfully, his jacket was long enough to cover up the skirt. Unzipping the shirt, he stepped out of the skirt and handed the entire outfit back to Sora and slid his jacket back onto his now naked upper body.

"What did you wear under these?" Sora questioned him and left both articles of clothing on the counter, hopping up next to them and biting into her bagel.

"Truthfully?"

"Yep."

"…nothing."

"Gross! You just went totally commando?" Tai rolled his eyes at his friend's childish freak-out.

"Well it's not like I really had much of a choice! Wearing boxers under a mini-skirt is not only tacky but it kills the entire affect!"

"Still, ew! I wanted to wear that eventually."

"You still can."

"Tai…now tell me the truth. Did you happen to get…a little excited when you were kissing Matt?"

"…well…kind of."

"**Gross!** Keep it then!" Sora shouted and threw everything back at him.

"Oh come on!"

"Tai, I'm **not** keeping something that **your **dick touched!" she continued to protest.

"So much for you being the mature one," Tai sighed and shook his head.

"That's icky."

"Look, I can't take it back to my house! Matt will figure it out and…ugh! I don't know anymore! I just can't take it back." Sora pushed the last bit of her bagel into her mouth and wiped her hands on her pajama bottoms, reaching under the sink and pulling out a plastic bag. Stuffing the clothing into the bag, she tied it up and slung it over her shoulder.

"All right. I'll keep it in my closet until you guys head back to the academy. Then I'll find somewhere to hide it in your room. Sound fair?" Tai nodded and smiled gratefully.

"Sounds great. Thank you. But you never answered what I should do about Matt."

"Yes I did. I said to wait. See what he does. In the meantime, don't rush into things and scare him off."

"Right, sure. Just wait for him to blow up in my face. Sounds so freakin' wonderful!"

Sora rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "Well you asked for my input and I gave it to you. What more do you want from me?"

"I don't know! Something reassuring?" Tai got out of his chair and stood up, heading for the front door once again.

"Well, if it helps, I think he's fruity."

"Don't say that! That's just really mean!" Tai accused his friend and glared in her direction.

"Tai! You are possibly the most contradicting person I have ever met. If he's fruity, you have problems, but if he's not fruity, you still have problems. Make up your damn mind!" she said in exasperation. Tai narrowed his eyes and huffed out a sigh, yanking the door open in front of him.

"Never mind. Just forget I even asked anything, I'll figure it out myself. After all, we're spending four days locked up in a hotel!" He grinned with false enthusiasm and sighed again, running a hand through his thatch of brown locks.

"Stop being so negative about this whole thing. You're supposed to be the anti-negative, remember?" Sora reminded him and leaned against the wall next to the door, continuing to watch her friend stress out.

"Right. I remember," the dull and flat reply came.

"Well if you remember, then start acting like it!" Sora grinned playfully and lightly pushed Tai out of the door.

"You know what. You're right. I need to look at the bright side of this whole situation." Tai nodded his head in agreement.

"Exactly."

"So when I **do** find a bright side, I'll let you know! Thanks for all of your help, I guess," he bid with a shrug and waved goodbye, clumping down the stairs and trudging back to his house.

"Stop being like this! It's freaking me out!" Sora shouted from behind him. Tai continued to ignore her and headed back to his house.

"Boys. Can't live with 'em, can't castrate 'em," she sighed and closed the front door, wandering back upstairs to her room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tai scuffed his feet on the wet sidewalk and stepped on his front porch rather heavily. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he screwed up again and his fragile relationship with Matt would be over. But he didn't want to think about that, not now anyway. He pushed open the front door and stepped into the house, tossing his coat on the rack carelessly. 

"I'm back," he mumbled mostly to himself and trudged into the living room where his two younger siblings and his friends sat.

"About time, Mom was trying to figure out why it took you so long," Kari informed her brother as she pulled a comb through her hair.

"Meh," he shrugged in response and turned around, heading for the kitchen this time.

"Well same to you too then!" the female shouted at his retreating form. Matt grinned slightly at the display of tame sibling rivalry and jogged after Tai, cornering him by the sink in the kitchen.

"Okay, so I didn't find anything," the blond admitted reluctantly. Tai nodded and reached into the cabinet to the right of the sink.

"I told you that you wouldn't," he reminded his friend and pulled out a bottle of pills, uncapping the lid and downing two of them. He reached into the cabinet again and pulled out a different bottle, also downing two of those pills followed by a small glass of water.

"Whoa, easy. What are all those?" Matt asked suspiciously, not wanting to be blamed if his best friend decided to OD on pills.

"Schizo meds, Tylenol," Tai answered and dropped the glass into the basin before him, turning on his heel and heading back into the front hall, running up the stairs to fetch his bag. Matt followed the figure with his eyes briefly before looking down at his feet, gnawing on his lower lip and wandering back out to where the rest of his friends were. He stepped into the room slowly, watching his brother attempt to pull Kari's hair up into a ponytail. Swatting his hands away and scowling at him, Kari swept up her own hair and pulled it back.

"You need to learn what you're doing before you attempt to do it," she scolded him lightly and secured the ponytail with a blue hair-tie.

"Well, excuse me for never being a girl," TK snorted in response and sulked deeper into the couch. Kari giggled at the display and rubbed the top of his head affectionately.

"Aw, you'll learn eventually," she cooed and tickled him under the chin briefly. TK rewarded her with a dreamy smile and a small purring sound, causing the teen girl to run her fingers around other areas of him.

"Ahem, still in the room!" Daisuke brought them back to earth. The happy couple frowned at the younger boy but shrugged it off.

"He's right you know, go get your own room," Matt said teasingly as he strolled up behind the couch, folding his arms on the top of it.

"Can we?" TK asked his older brother innocently but Matt knew just what he was implying.

"No!"

"It'd be fun though. Not to mention the fact you guys wouldn't have to watch us," Kari concluded with a wink.

"No way! Your brother would kill me if I said yes to anything like that!" Matt exclaimed to emphasize his point.

"If you agreed to anything like what?" Tai questioned the blond as he stepped into the room, now wearing a dark green t-shirt with a black and red star on it.

"Never mind. Don't **even** ask." Matt rolled his eyes skyward.

"No, now I really want to know," Tai informed the blue-eyed boy as he stepped over to him.

"Hmm…no you don't," Daisuke retorted, keeping his eyes glued on the TV screen.

"Fine, maybe I don't," Tai sighed and stifled a yawn, leaning further on the back of the couch.

"Kids! Let's go!" Ami's voice rang from the main level of the house. Kari glanced over at the clock and shot off of the arm of the couch.

"Let's go, guys!" she shouted at the boys and bounced up the stairs, TK not too far behind her. Daisuke shut off the TV and stretched out his arms, bending over backwards as well.

"Comfortable?" Matt questioned the youngest child, looking into the round face that was currently upside down.

"Mmh, it feels **so** good to stretch like this, you know that?" Daisuke countered with his own question.

"Glad you enjoy it. Just hurry up because we need to get going. Are you going to be okay traveling?" Tai helped his brother stand up straight and looked him in the eye.

"Why wouldn't I be okay traveling?" Daisuke shot up his eyebrow and readjusted his shirt that had risen up during his stretching.

"You're still sick whether you want to admit it or not. I'm just saying, if you're sick standing still, what's to say you won't be driving in a car?"

"That didn't even make sense, Tai."

"He means that there's more of a chance of you getting carsick at the current moment," Matt cut in, translating Tai's scrambled message.

"Oh…right. I won't get carsick," Daisuke protested and headed for the stairs to the main floor.

"You don't know that!" Tai hollered at his back and thundered up the four stairs behind his younger brother. Matt sighed, something he found himself doing quite a lot when around the Yagami-Motomiya siblings, and followed his friends up to the main level of the house. Ami was digging through the contents of her purse while Kari stood next to her, tapping her foot impatiently.

"C'mon, Mom! We'll miss the train at this rate!" the brunette persisted, throwing another glance at her watch.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kari! Just wait a minute!" Ami snapped back at her daughter as she continued rifling through the small brown bag. With a relieved gasp, she pulled out six train tickets and threw all of her other items back into the purse.

"Kari, do you have your pass to get into the competition?" Ami began the drill of checking her kids to make sure they were fully prepared.

"In my wallet," Kari replied, anxiety showing on her face as more time passed.

"Tai, medication?" Ami moved on to her eldest.

"It's buried at the bottom of my bag," Tai reassured the older woman, patting the orange canvas bag to prove his point.

"Daisuke, flashlight?" Ami had reached the last of her children. Matt blinked and turned his head towards Daisuke, giving the boy an odd look.

"Dais is pretty much terrified of the dark," Tai explained in a low whisper. Matt nodded in understanding and brushed away any other ideas he had.

"Yep and I have extra batteries too," Daisuke responded to Ami's questionings, bending down to tie his shoelace.

"And all three of you have enough clothes to last you for four days and enough entertainment so you don't drive me nuts on the train?" TK snickered at this and couldn't resist the small grin that was tugging at his lips.

"Possibly," Tai answered with a cheesy grin.

"He means yes, now can we get going?" Kari changed the subject and pointed at the door. Ami continued to ignore her middle child and moved onto the two blond brothers.

"You two have everything you need for the few days we're there?"

"Yeah, I think so," TK replied for both of them, Matt nodding his own agreement.

"Good. Let's get going then!" Ami clapped her hands together and picked up her standard-sized suitcase.

"Finally!" Kari huffed and rushed towards the door, dragging her rolling duffel bag and TK behind her. Daisuke quickly followed with his backpack banging against him.

"How can he fit everything for four days in that small bag?" Matt questioned, gesturing to his own suitcase and duffel bag at his side.

"Well," Tai began, hoisting his own bag further up on his shoulder as the pair walked outside, "you have to remember, Daisuke's small. His clothes don't take up that much room and he just shoves them in there. Most of his pants have lots of pockets. Therefore, he can store his smaller items, such as his toothbrush, into those pockets, saving more room and he'll more then likely wear those pants more then once."

"How can he wear the same pair of pants twice without washing them in between?" Matt inquired as the two boys shoved their luggage into the trunk of Ami's car.

"He just can, just like I can wear the same pair three days in a row if I have to." Tai shrugged and slammed the trunk shut, dusting his hands off on his thighs.

"Taichi!" Ami yelled from behind him as she came out with her suitcase, a frown slowly spreading on her face.

"…oops?" Tai flashed another grin and had Kari pop open the trunk once more from inside the car, dropping the heavy container next to his own things. Ami rewarded him with a nod and ushered the two older boys into the vehicle. Climbing into the driver's seat, Ami started the engine and the dark blue Honda pulled out of their driveway, heading down to the pier to take the ferry to Tokyo Station.

* * *

The group of six soon found themselves on the train straight to Kyoto, a three-hour journey. They had only been going for about 15 minutes as Kari kept fidgeting in her seat. 

"Are you comfortable right there?" TK asked his girlfriend, who was currently sitting between himself and her mother in a set of three seats.

"Oh yeah, I'm used to it by now anyway. Don't worry about it," Kari said with a wink and settled into the seat further. TK merely shrugged it off and looked out the window. In the row behind them, Daisuke sat next to the left window playing his new Gameboy Advance he had gotten for Christmas. Tai was sitting in the seat closest to the aisle, staring out the other window at the scenery before him. He was quiet, another thing Matt had been noticing for the past few days. When Tai wasn't overly-touchy and excited, Matt caught him brooding and sulky.

'_Not that I'm actually going to try and find out why. His business, not mine.'_ Matt analyzed this theory a few times before. Why should he pry into Tai's mind? It's probably a scary place to visit anyway. Matt toyed with his headphones, only half-listening to his Green Day CD. Tai must have felt his heated stare because he suddenly turned his head, allowing his dark eyes to clash with Matt's light ones.

"What's up?" Tai asked quietly, blinking at him carefully.

"Nothing. I was just kind of looking out the window as well," the blond replied, turning his gaze towards the front once more.

"Hmm. How dull do you think this competition will be?" Tai switched into a different direction, stretching out as much as he could in his limited space.

"Well, not too sure. Hopefully not too dull. Besides, cheerleaders are interesting to watch," Matt pointed out.

"I suppose. But I've been to one of these before and I was **bored.**"

"That's because you weren't paying attention to what was going on," Daisuke cut in without looking up from his screen.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tai glanced over at his brother.

"Who knows?" Tai lowered his eyelids and pouted.

"Oh knock it off," Matt warned him lightly, poking him in the cheek to erase his pout. Tai's mouth slipped into a grin and he giggled slightly.

"Leave my face alone," he whined, swatting at Matt's hand that was still lingering by his face.

"You're such a little whiner," Matt snickered but dropped his hand back into his lap.

"What's your point?"

"Never mind, Tai."

"This could be a long trip," Tai said suddenly and slumped down into his seat. "It'll only be a matter of time before Daisuke's running all over the place like some freaky rabid squirrel."

"I resent that! I don't wanna be compared to a rodent!" Daisuke cried out, snapping his head up from the game in his hands.

"I didn't ask if you wanted to be compared. You already were so get over it," Tai retorted and flicked him in the ear.

"Stop it!"

"Tai!" Ami turned around in her seat and looked at the boys behind her. A semi-guilty look flashed across Tai's face and he lowered his eyes.

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to your brother," Ami replied and nodded towards Daisuke. A small sigh of disgust escaped Tai's lips and he looked back up at the younger boy.

"Sorry Dais. I shouldn't be picking on you," Tai drawled out half-heartedly.

"No you shouldn't," Daisuke agreed and returned his attention back to the game. Tai's eyebrows furrowed and he gritted his teeth.

"But it's just so damn easy!" he exclaimed as an afterthought.

"Hey!" Daisuke reached over Matt and punched Tai in the chest.

"Stop touching me!" Tai shouted back and kicked Daisuke in the shin.

"You touched me first!" Daisuke lunged over Matt's lap and tackled Tai into the aisle of the train, punching him in the gut. Tai kicked Daisuke's shin again and pulled at bits of his hair. Daisuke let out a small shriek before biting down on Tai's upper arm.

"Boys, that's enough!" Ami got out of her seat and pulled up each of her sons by their collar.

"He started it!" Daisuke blurted out before Ami could say anything else.

"You're such a little nark!" Tai accused, rubbing his injured abdomen tenderly.

"I don't care whose fault it is, you both should know better then to be fighting, especially on a subway!" Ami shouted, shoving Tai back into his seat and Daisuke into one further away.

"I will not tolerate this, guys. Either you get your act together or I'll call Michael to come and take you home," she threatened the dark boys, towering over them now that they were sitting down.

"Fine with me. Not like I wanted to go anyway," Daisuke snorted and rolled his eyes. Ami blinked at him silently, taking time to absorb his reaction.

"Daisuke Akashi! What has gotten into you? You shouldn't be acting like this for at least another year!" Daisuke shrugged and remained silent. Ami closed her eyes and blew her bangs away from her face.

"Is something wrong?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"No," Daisuke replied automatically as soon as the words left Ami's mouth. Another skeptical look crossed the older woman's features as she stared down at her son.

"All right, if you say so. But I want you to sit there and think about how you're behaving right now," Ami finally said and returned to her seat, leaving behind a sulking Daisuke and a rather frustrated Tai. Instantly, he turned his head back towards Matt and began to rant.

"What kind of crap is that? He just attacks me for no reason and developed this freaky attitude!" Matt rolled his eyes at his best friend's reaction and shook his head.

"Maybe it's just his way of defending himself?" The blue-eyed suggested.

"Defending himself from what?" Tai quirked his lip up in question.

"Your mother finding out he's sick," Matt whispered into his ear so Ami did not hear him.

"Well if he had just told her earlier and not be so stubborn about it!" Tai exploded again.

"So, if he wasn't so much like you, you mean?" Matt said casually, waiting to see how long it would take for Tai to realize what he said.

"Right, if he wasn't so," Tai stopped talking and blinked at him. "Say what?" Matt snickered behind his hand but didn't bother to hide his grin.

"Seriously, Tai. You can't honestly tell me that you'd openly admit that you were weak," he said to the brunet.

"I suppose you have a point," Tai trailed off and shook his head suddenly. "Still, that's no reason for him to be acting like an asshole."

"Maybe he doesn't realize he's being like an asshole."

"Who knows?" Tai shrugged and threw another glance at his brother who was now currently leaning against the window with his eyes shut tightly. He sighed again and bit his lip.

"He'll get over it," Matt reassured his friend, seeing his worried facial expression.

"Yeah…hopefully soon," Tai replied and looked away, sinking further into his seat. They still had another two hours before they reached Kyoto. Matt had already reabsorbed himself into his Discman and he wasn't about to start talking to Daisuke again. One thing people needed to know about Taichi Yagami: he could hold a grudge for as long as necessary.

'_I could just take a nap…yeah…that sounds really good.'_ he yawned quietly and curled up as much as he could in his seat, closing his eyes and relaxing his muscles. It didn't take long after that before the schizophrenic fell asleep.

* * *

"Hey, Tai, wake up. We're here," Matt whispered into the tanned ear, subconsciously inhaling the light scent of cologne the Japanese boy wore. 

'_Mmh, smells sweet…'_ The blond hid a grin as mud-colored eyes fluttered open.

"What's up?" Tai blinked away excess sleep as he sat upright.

"We're here. Everybody else already got off of the train, let's go!" Matt grabbed his bags from above and below him before walking off of the subway, leaving Tai to scramble behind him. The pair walked into the busy station and spotted their companions not too far ahead of them.

"About time. We figured you'd end up going onto the next stop," TK said jokingly as he leaned on the handle of his rolling suitcase.

"You can blame Tai for that," Matt replied.

"Hey!" Tai shouted indignantly, causing the others to laugh suddenly.

"All right, that's enough. The hotel's in walking distance from here," Ami explained to the teens as they exited the station, coming out into the sunlight.

"Wow," Kari breathed out at the beautiful sight before them.

"Kyoto's beautiful, isn't it?" TK asked her rhetorically as he linked his arm with her own, leading her down the street towards the hotel. Matt glanced over to Tai to see his reaction and noted with surprise that he didn't seem to care.

"You mean you're actually allowing them to touch each other in public?" he smirked in Tai's general direction. Tai shrugged and nodded, turning his gaze to meet Matt's own.

"I don't see why not. Your brother's a nice enough guy and I trust him and it's a short walk anyway," he said in return. "See, the building's right there." Tai pointed at the large hotel in front of them. Matt turned his head and felt his jaw drop slightly at the sight of the building. A large fountain was centered in front of it, constructed of two giant Koi fish facing each other, spitting into the pool below them. The fish glimmered with multiple colors, most likely made of metal and the water in the pool remained a clear blue. Inside the pool swam little fishes and water lilies.

Matt's gaze traveled beyond the fountain to the actual building itself. Plenty of stories high, the outside was decorated with ivy growing up the sides and small bonsai trees growing around the path leading up to the doors. The entrance was covered and lined with solid white pillars, much bigger up and around then the boy himself.

"Matt, come on!" Matt snapped back into focus and spotted everybody already at the door.

"Wait for me!" Matt yelled back as he raced up the entry path and burst in through the doors behind his friends.

"Holy…" The boy blinked at the appearance of the building on the inside. From the ceiling hung several glass chandeliers and on the walls were tiny brass lanterns. The ceiling also was painted with an array of soft, rusty colors designed in no particular way. Many people were milling in the lobby, some old, some young, and some bellhops chasing down run-away luggage carts. Ami led the children up to the main desk and got one of the desk attendants' attention.

"Welcome to Kyoto Classic, how can I help you today?" The young man smiled and leaned on the counter in front of him.

"Yes, I called in to reserve two rooms three days ago and I was wondering if they were ready yet?" Ami asked rather than stated.

"Well, I can certainly check for you. Name?" The attendant turned to the computer on his right and typed in a few phrases.

"They'd be under Yagami," Ami replied. Kari sighed impatiently and allowed her eyes to roam the room.

"This is taking so long," she muttered under her breath and leaned against the counter herself, folding her arms across her chest.

"Kari!" two voices chorused together as two blurs of blue and white barreled towards the young girl. Kari's face split into a wide grin and she squealed back, launching herself at her two friends in excitement.

"Settle down, girls," Ami warned them as she continued inquiring about the rooms.

"Sorry, Mom," Kari apologized and turned back to her teammates. Mimi flipped her hair over her shoulder and beamed.

"We were beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all!" she exclaimed. The other girl nodded in agreement and grinned also.

"Yeah, Meems was about to have a heart attack," she joked and sent a wink Mimi's way.

"Jun! What did you do to your hair?" Kari ignored everything else that was just said and reached out to touch the other girl's hair. It was in the same style as Tai's (slightly shorter though) and it was the same color as Daisuke's, except now, it had streaks of blue and silver in it to match their warm-ups.

"Doesn't it look killer? I just had to try it," Jun explained, obviously proud of herself.

"I like it, very you," Kari agreed and turned back to the boys, two who were glancing at Jun oddly and the other two who were nodding politely.

"You guys remember Jun, don't you?" Kari asked her brothers as she pointed at the other girl.

"Oh yeah, who can forget?" Tai smirked.

"Funny, Taichi, very amusing," Jun retorted but let it slide anyway.

"I remember her." Daisuke nodded quietly and switched his gaze to Mimi.

"Dais! I didn't think you were going to come!" Mimi shrieked and threw her arms around Daisuke tightly, hugging him close to her. Daisuke remained rather stiff in her arms and patiently waited until she pulled away. A frown was etched into her features and she stared at the younger boy.

"You seem so excited to see me," she said dryly. Daisuke shrugged.

"What did you expect me to do, jump on you and attack you with kisses?" he shot back. She blinked at him in surprise and backed away slightly.

"Wow, what's your deal?" she asked him curiously. Daisuke shrugged again, giving Mimi the hint that she should drop the subject all together, which she did. Kari gave her friend an apologetic grin and turned to the two blond brothers.

"Guys, this is Jun. She doesn't have a last name," Kari introduced the other girl. Matt and TK exchanged a confused glance and stared at Jun.

"Why don't you have a last name?" Matt asked the question that was on both of their minds.

"My mom doesn't really believe in last names," Jun replied casually as if it was normal to say such a thing. The blond brothers shrugged and nodded.

"Whatever floats it then," TK said and rested his chin on Kari's shoulder.

"Do you think this place has a pool?" Tai joined the conversation as he looked around the lobby for any signs of an entrance to a pool.

"I'm sure there is. I mean, just look at the size of this place!" Matt gestured with his hand.

"You've got a good point."

"All right kids, let's get going," Ami interrupted them and held up two hotel keys.

"What floor are we on, Mom?" Kari questioned as they all picked up their bags and followed Ami towards the elevators.

"We are on the 15th floor in the East tower," Ami answered and pressed the up arrow.

"That's what floor we're on too!" Mimi and Jun jumped in.

"Is the whole team on the same floor?" Kari turned to her friends again as they all boarded the roomy elevator.

"I'm pretty sure we are. Noriko, Izumi, Autumn, Itami, Shiuchon, and Ai are all on the same floor too so you can only guess," Jun replied as the doors closed behind them.

"They're the only ones we've found so far. Alice said she wasn't showing up until later tonight. Same with Juri and Mika, and we can only guess when the guys will show up," Mimi continued where Jun left off.

"They actually have guy cheerleaders?" Matt whispered to himself.

"Oh yes. They're all pretty decent guys but I have no clue why they're cheerleaders," Tai answered him anyway.

"Some of the guys are already here. I saw Junpei and Hirokazu wandering around earlier today," Jun filled in.

"Ugh, Kazu is such a little perv!" Mimi groaned at the mere thought.

"Oh c'mon, he's not that bad, Meems. He really is a nice guy…in his own little way," Kari said but had to laugh anyway because what Mimi had said was partially true. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, they all knew that the only reason Hirokazu was on that team was because he got to touch the girls. But at least he knew his limits.

"Hey Kari, did you talk to Miya?" Jun changed the subject abruptly as the elevator dinged, allowing everybody to get off and out.

"I did. She said that she'd try and make it here to watch us tomorrow," Kari relayed the message she had been told earlier by the girl the other was referring to.

"Miyako's coming?" Mimi's eyes widened happily.

"She said she was going to try," Kari repeated herself.

"That's great! I miss having her on the squad," Mimi said as the large group headed down the hall to the two Yagami rooms.

"Well, when we get into high school next year, we can just try out for that squad. She's on there right now," Jun informed the other two girls.

"Do you guys ever shut up?" Daisuke cut in, glaring at his sister and her friends rather darkly.

"Oh knock it off, Dais. Just because Mom yelled at you doesn't mean you have to have a crappy attitude," Kari scolded him and glared back.

"Oh yeah, I'm **so** like this because Mom yelled at me," Daisuke mumbled to himself but stopped looking at them.

"Are you **sure** that's your brother, Kars? 'Cause that is **definitely** not the Daisuke I remember," Jun confirmed her theory with a shake of the head. Kari sighed and shrugged.

"It's him. I just don't know what's wrong with him. Nor do I care because this is our weekend. I'm too excited!" she squealed again, causing the other two to cheer as well and start talking at a rapid pace again.

"Kari, pay attention to me first, then you can go off with your friends," Ami spoke over her daughter and her friends' chatter. The three cheerleaders stopped talking at once and Kari watched her mother closely.

"Now here's what I've figure out. Tai, Matt, and Daisuke can all share this room," Ami said and knocked on the door numbered 1509. "It has a king-sized bed and a fold-out couch so you can figure out who's sleeping where. As for this room, it has a separate bedroom that can be mine if I want to shut the door and then the rest of the room is like a large living room. That can be Kari's and TK's."

"Looks like we get to try it after all, Teeks." Kari winked at her boyfriend, reminding him of the conversation earlier that morning.

"Mom, are you sure you trust them to be together in a room without you watching?" Tai asked apprehensively, eyes suddenly darting between his sister and his best friend's brother.

"Tai, I'm still in the same room. I will be able to hear them still," Ami said loudly to make sure the couple had heard it.

"Good." Tai nodded and held out his hand, snatching up one of the keys from Ami's hand. Turning around, he slid it into the lock and waited for the green light to flash, swinging the door to his room open.

"Come on in you guys." Tai ushered his brother and his friend into the room before he himself stepped inside. Closing the door behind him, he walked up behind the other two boys and his eyes widened.

"Cool…" all three of them breathed out together. The room was larger than they had anticipated, two whole walls being made up of windows. A large TV and entertainment system were set up on the right wall, along with a table that held the phone and mini-fridge. In the corner of the two walls of windows sat a plush black leather couch and another bigger study table. On the left wall before the windows started was another door to what they could only assume was the bathroom. On the right side of the door sat the bed, decorated in deep blue covers and golden pillows, along with a bedside table with a crystal lamp sitting upon it.

It was heaven; and it was all theirs. Tai was the first one to come back to his senses.

"Man, this is awesome!" he exclaimed and began to run around the room, picking up everything and touching anything he could find. Daisuke waltzed up to the TV and turned it on; beginning to channel-surf mindlessly and tinker with the game system that sat on the lower shelve. Matt strolled across the room and stared out the window, peering down to enjoy the height and looking straight forward to examine the skyline.

"Hey! Why don't we figure out sleeping arrangements later and go for a swim? I saw a sign for the pool on the way up here," Tai suggested and tossed his bag onto the bed, digging through it for his trunks.

"I'm game," Daisuke replied and dumped all of his things onto the floor, easily spotting his dark red swimming trunks.

"Hey wait a sec! Did not bring a suit!" Matt protested. "Actually, I don't even think I brought one into the country."

"Well…I do have an extra pair if you want," Tai offered the bright blue shorts to the blond.

"Um…don't you think that's a little…weird?"

"What?"

"Me wearing your trunks. That doesn't seem right somehow," Matt rationalized as he poked the trunks in his hands.

"What's wrong with it? I've only worn them once anyway and it's not like I'm giving you a pair of my boxers to wear," Tai countered.

"I suppose you're right…"

"And besides, you want to go swimming with us, right?"

"Yes…"

"Therefore, you really have no other choice unless you go in that," Tai said and waved a hand at Matt's current outfit of dark red pants and a plain black shirt.

"I suppose you're right," Matt repeated himself and sighed. "I'm going to go change then." The blue-eyed boy turned around and walked into the spacious bathroom, not noticing the Cheshire-cat grin that spread across Tai's face. As the bathroom door clicked shut, the darker boy pumped a fist into the air.

'_Step number two, get him closer. What other way to be close then to share clothes?'_ He sniggered to himself slightly and ignored the strange looks his brother was giving him. After all, his plan was slowly beginning to work.

Nothing could bring him down now.

* * *

"So how far away is this pool?" Matt asked the brunet who was leading them around the building. 

"It should be just up ahead. Thankfully, it's indoors," Tai added afterwards.

"If it wasn't, you'd be swimming on your own, pal," Matt said and licked his dry lips, turning his head to make sure Daisuke was still following them. Sure enough, the other boy was dragging his feet behind, turning his head in all directions to glimpse at the many fascinating things in the hotel halls.

"We're here!" Tai announced and opened the door to the pool, pulling his two comrades inside with him.

"Hey guys!" Kari shouted, popping her head up above the water and waving at them. She paddled up to the side of the pool and laid her arms on top of the edge. The three dry boys walked closer and returned her greeting. TK swam up behind her and grinned.

"You guys had the same idea too, huh?" he asked rhetorically.

"Oh yeah. No way I'm passing up a pool," Tai replied, leaving Daisuke and Matt to nod in agreement.

"Well hurry up and get in the water. We're playing a game," Kari said and ducked back under the water, swimming over towards her teammates once again.

"Somehow, hanging out with a bunch of girls isn't as bad as I thought it would be," TK told the other three and grinned, chasing after Kari at lightning-speed. Matt blinked and shrugged, taking off his shirt and tossing it on top of TK's hat in a nearby chair.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get in," Matt said and jumped into the water, splashing Tai and Daisuke slightly.

"Warm water!" Daisuke squeaked and also chucked his shirt aside, diving in after Matt.

"Hey, you can't just leave me by myself!" Tai shouted and unbuttoned his top, watching his friends swim off towards the large group of girls…and TK.

"Some friends you are!" Tai hollered after them and finally rid himself of the fabric, hopping into the pool and chasing down the others. What he came upon was his sister, TK, his brother, his best friend, and about eight other girls.

"Hey ladies," he greeted most of the cheerleading squad with a suave smile as he stopped moving closer.

"Hi Tai, long time no see," a fair-skinned blonde with light blue eyes smiled at the brunet.

"Izumi, likewise. How ya been?" Tai asked the girl.

"Great, even better now that you're here," she replied slyly.

"Aw, I'm touched."

"Tai, you can't just ignore the rest of us," a thin girl with auburn-red hair and sparkling green eyes reminded Tai with a pout.

"Auttie, darling, I could never forget you, or the rest of the girls," Tai reassured them all. Meanwhile, all Matt could do was stare on in disbelief. Was this **his** Tai? The Tai that had spent most of his time lately clinging to him like he was going to die tomorrow? The Tai who normally showed no interest in anybody else when Matt was around?

"Oh yeah, and Bob says hello as well."

Oh yes, it was most definitely his Tai. But why was he acting this way? What was causing him to be so flirty and outgoing with these girls? And how was Matt supposed to stop it? He had an idea. An evil idea, but an idea nonetheless.

"Tai, sweetie, it's not Bob we wanted to see, it's you," the one with purple hair, Itami, purred and draped her arms on his shoulder.

"Hmm, good to know," Tai replied with a laugh. Suddenly, something tugged at his ankles and he was dragged under the surface, flipped upside down and pushed down further. Sputtering and coughing, he shot back up and he could hear all of the girls laughing. He turned around and saw Matt standing behind him, smirking at him with a challenge.

"Ishida," Tai hissed lowly and fully turned his body.

"Yagami," Matt returned, still grinning at his feat.

"You are so gone!" Tai shouted and darted forward, starting off the chase. Matt inwardly giggled to himself, semi-glad that he had gotten Tai's attention back. The other half of him however was trying to figure out why he wanted Tai's attention so badly to begin with.

'_Well, he_ **is** _my best friend. That could be part of it. Yeah. He's_ **my **_best friend. Nobody else's.'_ It occurred to him that he did sound rather selfish, but he didn't mind at all. Why couldn't he be selfish? He never really had a best friend before. There was no way he was about to let his first one go to a bunch of girls. He tilted his head slightly to scan for the mop of brown hair and was greatly alarmed when he noticed it was getting much closer. He kicked his legs faster and paddled with his arms harder.

Tai on the other hand wasn't so intent on catching Matt. He was just in it because he knew that's what Matt wanted. It was so blatantly obvious to him that all the American boy wanted was attention. So attention was what Tai was going to give him. He knew quite a few things Matt didn't know about all of those girls. The entire squad knew he was bi (thanks to Kari's big mouth during a game of truth or dare) and that he would never really pursue a relationship with any of them, even though he did think they were all gorgeous. After all, it's like Itami had once said.

'_I prefer dicks more then chicks.'_ Tai recited in his mind as he continued following Matt around the pool. Another thing he knew that Matt didn't: this was step number three in his master plan. Just what was step three? Give him a kick in the butt. Tai figured that if he wanted Matt to start making moves on him, he'd have to threaten his security somehow. What better way then to flirt it up with a bunch of pretty girls?

'_There is no better way, that's the point.'_ He smirked to himself and gave himself one final surge of energy, latching his hands around Matt's ankles and dragging him closer. In some sick and twisted way, he enjoyed watching Matt wriggle and squirm in his grasp. It made him feel powerful.

Then he realized how perverse that sounded and stopped thinking along those lines.

"Now, what do you say?" he asked Matt sternly, keeping a smile on his face to show he was just being playful.

"You deserved it!" Matt promptly responded with a smile of his own.

"Not funny."

"I thought it was."

"You would." Tai released the pale boy's legs and let him stand back up in the water. It was then he realized where exactly they had gone.

"And just when you think it couldn't get fancier," Matt voiced Tai's thoughts as he too looked around their new surroundings. The area was dark and quiet, lit only enough so they could see where they were going and each other. It seemed to be that Matt had led them through some sort of tunnel the pool had. Tai looked over his shoulder. He could still see the normal, active pool where the girls, his brother, and TK were splashing around. He refocused on the area at hand.

Various palm trees and water plants were growing on the banks of the area and a soft melody was playing somewhere. In a way, it reminded the boys of a lagoon.

"Wow. Who do you suppose built this?" Tai asked as he swam further into the enclosed area.

"More like why they built it," Matt spoke quietly, almost as if he was afraid of breaking the serene silence.

"I wouldn't have any idea," Tai whispered, coming back closer to Matt. The two stood face to face, staring into each others' eyes quietly.

'_It's too risky to try and kiss him again, so soon after last night. And besides, I already convinced him that that didn't even happen.' _So began the inner battle of Taichi. His eyes roamed over Matt's body slowly, taking in every inch of smooth, creamy skin, every scar, every freckle, every mark and crevice of the boy in front of him. He knew Matt didn't believe he looked beautiful. He had told him that once. But if only Tai could prove to him how wrong he was. His blond hair was damp and plastered to his head, hanging down over his ears and into his eyes. The eyes that glimmered such a striking blue no matter how dark it was.

'_Screw self-control. I have no self-control. I am a spoiled brat who always gets what he wants.'_ Tai nodded to himself and leaned in further, almost reaching his goal of the pale pink lips.

Of course, it would have worked well had Matt not turned his head just that moment to look at something outside of the water cave. Not able to keep up his balance, Tai wobbled forward and hit the water with a splash. Matt jerked his head back and grabbed his friend by the arm.

"Are you okay, Tai?" he asked, brushing hair out of his face to get a better look at the tanned boy. He couldn't help it when his mouth fell open just a tad bit. He couldn't help it when his eyes stared intently at the well-chiseled chest and abs of his best friend. And he most certainly couldn't help it when he reached out and readjusted the pooka shell necklace that Tai always wore that was now knocked adjacent from the fall. He was well aware of the fact his cheeks were now one shade of pink darker. He was also well aware of the fact that he didn't give a damn.

"Yeah…perfectly fine," Tai whispered and began to move out of the cove. "C'mon, the others are probably wondering where we got off to." The darker boy swam out into the bigger pool, leaving behind a confused and contemplating Matt.

"What just happened?" he asked himself in a low voice, staring around the water cave once more. He couldn't be quite sure, but he did know one thing.

It most certainly wasn't normal between two boys who should be **just** friends.

* * *

It was around ten o'clock that night and Matt still couldn't figure out what had happened between him and Tai, or rather, what was still happening between them. He was currently sitting on the floor drinking a can of Mountain Dew he bought from the vending machine around the corner and staring up at the TV. Daisuke was curled up on the couch, absolutely glued to his Game Boy once more. As for Tai, he was laying on the bed also watching the TV. 

"All right, so how are we sleeping tonight?" Tai questioned out of the blue.

"Soundly?" Matt shrugged and continued watching the movie.

"I meant who's sleeping where. Are you taking the couch and Daisuke's in the bed with me?" Daisuke snorted at this statement.

"Tai, if I'm not speaking to you, what makes you think I'm going to sleep in the same bed as you," Daisuke phrased the words into a statement rather then a question.

"You just talked to me," Tai pointed out. Daisuke proceeded to ignore him. Tai sighed and gave Matt a sheepish look.

"Sorry my brother is being a jackass. You don't mind sharing a bed do you? Or you can sleep on the floor or something," Tai listed off Matt's limited options. Matt shrugged and held up a hand.

"Toss me a pillow then. I'm sure you'd be more comfortable with a bed to yourself," Matt said. Tai bit back his protest and wordlessly handed over the pillow.

"I vote we go to bed then. We have to be down at the competition room at eight tomorrow," he said after a short amount of silence.

"They're holding the actual competition in the hotel?" Matt asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah. They're holding it in one of the huge ballrooms downstairs."

"Impressive."

"Oh yeah," Tai reached over and pulled the covers down a bit, crawling into the squishy bed and settling down. "Are you sure you're comfortable down there?" he leaned over the edge of the bed and looked down at the blond.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I used to sleep on the floor all the time," Matt replied and curled up with the pillow, shutting off the TV with the remote control that was in his hand. Daisuke had shut off his Game Boy and curled up on the couch, not bothering to fold it out. A wry smile crossed Matt's face and he looked back up at Tai who was currently fiddling with his necklace.

"Do you ever take that off?" Tai looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I said, do you ever take your necklace off?" Matt propped himself up on his elbows and faced his companion.

"Well…not really. I've never noticed it, but no I don't take it off," Tai replied slowly, fingering the necklace gently.

"Where'd you get it from?" Tai fell silent and a blank look crossed his face. Matt waited expectantly on the floor, still examining his friend's expression. It flickered between confusion, anger, and sadness.

'_What the hell could he possibly be thinking about?'_ Matt's eyebrows furrowed together. Tai still remained silent. It was beginning to drive the blue-eyed boy nuts.

"Tai?" The simple call of his name snapped the boy out of his little trance, blinking suddenly to clear his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh," Tai said as he came back to reality. Matt shot him another curious look. "Um, I just got it from somewhere. But I'm kind of tired so I'm just gonna shut off the light okay? Night, Matt," Tai said all at once, reaching over to snap off the light. The room was soon plunged into darkness and Matt was left alone with his thoughts and one single pillow.

'_There's something about that necklace he doesn't want me to know. Although I can't imagine why. Tai's always so open about everything with me. Hell, half of the time he shares things I never wanted to know to begin with! But there must be some secret meaning behind that necklace. Or maybe I'm just over-analyzing it. Yeah, that sounds about right. I think I'll just shut my brain down now before I confuse myself further.'_ He shook his head and closed his eyes, sighing deeply as he snuggled against the pillow. After exercising his brain with puzzles about Tai, it didn't take too long before he fell asleep for the night.

* * *

The first thing Tai noticed upon wakening was the fact that something was deeply embedded in his stomach. The second thing he noticed was that the something had blond hair. Groaning slightly, he pushed Matt's head away from him. 

"Stop touching me," Matt whined and snuggled up against Tai's side instead.

"You're the one touching me," Tai replied. Matt's eyes shot open and he pushed himself away from the brunet.

'_Damn, second time that's happened in the course of five days.'_ Matt noticed and shot his friend another glare.

"Still, you didn't have to push me so hard," he retorted to cover up for the slight pause.

"Well, I wouldn't have had to if you weren't pressing on my bladder," Tai said pointedly. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you said you were going to sleep on the floor."

"I was. Then it got really cold down there," Matt replied, receiving an eye roll from Tai. "Besides, I didn't think you'd mind if I crawled in since I happened to be freezing."

"Well no, not really. I was just curious. Hey what time is it?" Tai changed the subject (what else is new?) and sat all the way up.

"Just a little past seven," Matt answered through a yawn. Tai nodded and picked up his pillow.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked, eyeing the pillow suspiciously. Tai put a finger to Matt's lips to silence him, using a finger from his other hand to point at Daisuke, who was still soundly sleeping in the sunlight. Matt nodded in understanding and watched Tai's plan fall into action. With skill Matt could only dream of ever having, Tai pitched the pillow across the room, smacking Daisuke right in the face.

"Hey!" Daisuke sputtered and sat up, picking up the offending pillow.

"Morning, sunshine! Get dressed; we need to be down there soon. I so claim the shower first though!" Tai blurted out and darted into the bathroom, grabbing a clean set of clothes as an after-thought. Matt and Daisuke simultaneously blinked at the human blur and sighed.

"How strange," Matt commented and laid on his stomach, turning the TV on to watch the news.

"He's always strange," Daisuke added in. Matt nodded and the two sat in silence, Matt watching the news and Daisuke watching the city below them. It wasn't more then ten minutes later that Tai came out, hair still dripping wet and only standing in his jeans.

"Who's next?" he questioned as he shook out his hair, sending little droplets of water everywhere.

"Me. I haven't showered for two days," Matt said and hopped off of the bed, sauntering into the bathroom with his own clothes and toothbrush in his hand. The door clicked shut and Tai turned away, focusing his attention on Daisuke.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked the younger boy. Daisuke shrugged in response and continued watching the outside world.

"Oh come on, Dais! I'm sorry all right? If it makes you feel better, I'm sorry I was being a dipshit," Tai ranted on and on as he combed his hair with his fingers.

"It's fine, I don't care anymore. You're forgiven," Daisuke responded quietly. Tai eyed his brother carefully, walking up behind him.

"What's out there?"

"A lot. This is the time when the city starts to come to life," Daisuke explained as he pointed at all of the buses, cars, and people that were bustling down the streets.

"Nice."

"Yeah. It's fun to watch people, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know." Tai looked back towards the bathroom door.

'_Believe me, I know how fun it is.'_ Tai inwardly sighed and slipped on a navy blue t-shirt with the words, "People Like You Are The Reason People Like Me Need Medication," printed in bold, jagged white letters. Twenty minutes later, Matt came out of the bathroom fully cleaned, dressed, and awake.

"Dais, your turn," he said to the cinnamon-eyed boy. Daisuke tore his gaze away from the window and got off of the couch, wandering into the bathroom at a much slower pace.

"I don't think he feels very well," Tai commented once the door had closed. Matt glanced over at the other teen, who still had a concerned look plastered on his face.

"I don't think so either," Matt agreed and sank onto the bed. "But what can we do about it?"

"Not much."

"Exactly." They sat in silence once more, Matt reabsorbed into the TV and Tai staring off into space. Tai suddenly turned around and headed for the door.

"I'm gonna go get a soda before we head out," he told his American comrade and turned the door handle. "Let me back in when I knock."

"Mmkay," Matt replied and waved him off, changing the channel on the TV. Tai shook his head at the sight and disappeared into the hall, allowing the door to shut with a bang behind him. It wasn't more than 30 seconds later that he heard another loud bang. Turning down the volume of the TV, Matt looked around the room for the source of the sound. He soon came to the realization that it came from the bathroom.

'_Daisuke.'_ Matt concluded and got up, pressing his ear to the bathroom door. He heard no other signs of activity and no sounds of movement. He waited for another 30 seconds before red flags went up telling him that something had gone wrong. After all, that **was** a pretty big bang just for dropping a bar of soap or something. He reached out and grasped the doorknob, turning it to the left. The door swung open easily and Matt stepped into the bright white bathroom.

"Hopefully this doesn't count as something like pedophilia," he grumbled to himself as he stepped closer to the shower. He saw that there indeed was no movement coming from the other boy at all. Without much hesitation, Matt ripped away the shower curtain and looked around. Looking down towards the bottom, he found Daisuke crumpled up into a small heap, water beating down on his unconscious form.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Matt hissed and shut off the water instantly. But what was he suppose to do next?

"Matt, open the damn door!" Tai shouted from out in the hall, proceeding to bang on the door some more. Quick as a flash, Matt ran out into the main room and wrenched open the door, dragging Tai inside.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Tai asked and grinned jokingly. "That anxious to see me?"

"Your brother passed out in the shower," Matt said bluntly, watching Tai's face change from easy-going to horrified.

"What?"

"After you left, I heard this really loud thud and I was just like, 'Oh okay, he just dropped something,' but then I heard nothing so I went to check and I found him lying at the bottom of the shower unconscious," Matt explained as he pulled Tai towards the bathroom. The two boys headed over to the shower and Tai knelt down next to it.

"Daisuke? Hey Dais, c'mon, wake up," Tai coaxed his younger brother while shaking his shoulders lightly. Daisuke stirred under the touch and his eyes fluttered open, staring up into Tai's large brown ones.

"Hey, Tai. What's going on?"

"Oh gosh, are you okay? Matt said he found you passed out and oh my gosh are you okay?" Tai started babbling nonsense and checking the boy for any injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daisuke insisted and pushed Tai's hands away.

"What happened, dude?" Matt joined the conversation, handing the younger boy a towel. Accepting it gratefully, Daisuke stood up on shaky feet and wrapped the towel around his waist.

"I don't really know. I mean, one minute I was okay and then it got really hot and I felt dizzy…and I guess I passed out," Daisuke said slowly, not sure of how to handle the whole idea. Tai frowned again and placed the back of his hand on Daisuke's forehead.

"You've got a fever, that's why," he told him and reached into one of the drawers, pulling out a thermometer.

"Do you carry that thing with you everywhere?" Daisuke implored before Tai stuffed the digital stick into his mouth.

"No, not everywhere, but I did bring it because you were sick before we left," Tai answered and waited for the full three minutes. The thermometer beeped loudly, signaling that it had determined Daisuke's temperature. Pulling it out, Tai read the numbers on the little screen.

"Well?" Daisuke prodded him, leaning against the sink for support.

"You're at 102 Fahrenheit, kid. Technically, that's not good. But I'll let it slide and we won't tell Mom, deal?" Tai offered, throwing the thermometer back into the drawer.

"Deal. Now can you guys get out so I can get dressed?"

"Eh, we can do that. C'mon, Tai," Matt beckoned the brunet but grabbed his upper arm anyway, pulling him out of the room and shutting the door.

"Are you really going to let him deal with it on his own?" he asked once they were out of the bathroom. Tai shrugged in return and bit his lip.

"What else am I suppose to do? I don't want Mom freaking out over nothing. But if his temp does get any higher, I'm telling her no matter what he says."

"Tai, 102 can be considered dangerous too for somebody his age."

"I know. But like I said, what else am I suppose to do?"

"I don't know. I really don't." The conversation ended suddenly as the bathroom door swung open, revealing a fully dressed Daisuke.

"Are we ready?"

Tai nodded and grabbed the room key off of the table. "Let's roll, guys," he said and led them out of the room and back into the elevator, pressing the button for the lobby.

* * *

"Where have you three been? They're about ready to go on!" Ami yelled over the noise of the other teams and their supporters. 

"Sorry, I couldn't find my shoes, Ami. I didn't mean to make us late," Matt stepped in, knowing very well that Ami wouldn't be harsh with him as she would be with her two boys. Just as he thought, Ami merely smiled at him and nodded.

"That's quite all right, Matt. As long as you're here now, nothing to worry about," she said with a wave, turning her attention back to the front. The three boys sat down on the other side of her and TK turned to face them.

"About time you guys showed. I was beginning to worry about my sanity with all of these girls…" he gestured to all of the girls wearing their miniskirts and carrying their pom-poms.

"Eh, we wouldn't put you through that type of torture alone," Matt assured him and leaned back in his chair, watching the team that was currently on the stage.

"Are they really on next?" Tai leaned over to direct the question to TK.

"Yep, they really are."

"How's Kari handling it?" Daisuke questioned just for the sake of talking.

"She's so excited I was afraid she was going to break her neck this morning running around like a loon. Don't tell her I called her a loon by the way," TK said briefly as the routine ended.

"They're up!" Ami beamed and got her camera ready for pictures.

"Matt, you **have** to watch," Tai insisted and pulled him to his feet so that he could see.

"Will I be impressed?" The other three males looked at each other and nodded together.

"Oh yeah," They said together as well. The applause for the previous team ended and the announcer began to speak.

"And now, team number 16 from Odaiba; please welcome the T-Wolves!" More applause rose into the air as the twelve girls and the six guys ran onto the performing flat, kicking and cheering and pumping up the crowd.

"There she is," TK said vaguely and pointed to his girlfriend, who was standing dead center and looking ready to rock. The team got into their poses and waited for their music to play. A bumping song came on over the speakers and the whole team began to step from left to right, swinging their arms from left to right up by their face and snapping their fingers. The music blared out while the girls began to do various hip-hop moves complete with a body roll at the end of the phrase.

The guys continued to step from side to side clapping their hands to the beat while the girls picked a partner, doing a ballroom dip before they let go of each others' hands and bent backwards into an arch and planting their hands on the floor, pressing their feet together to complete the flip.

"They're copying stuff from the video huh?" Matt questioned Tai.

"Just the beginning of the chorus but that shit is hard. Trust me, I've tried," Tai replied and kept his eyes glued on the team. Matt nodded and watched what else they would do.

The boys began to break dance while the girls created three groups of four in the back. Three girls were sent up into the air. Three girls that he recognized as Jun, Mimi, and Kari, which really was no surprise to him. The routine went on for a bit longer, finally stopping with the music as each girl lined up with a boy.

"Is that it?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Just watch," TK replied and waited with large eyes. There was a small glitch before the next song in their mix played through.

The girls that were without partners were doing flips in the back of the couples while the couples began their own thing. It began with a two-hands high-five down low with the girls' hands on the bottom and the boys' on top. After that, they did the Running Man backwards for four-counts. They went around in a half-circle doing the Grapevine so that the girl was now on the right and the boy was on the left. As the words, "We got the gift of melody we gonna bring it till the end," blared through the speakers, the boy grabbed the girls hands and slid her underneath through her legs so that she went on to the next guy. The last girl and the first guy headed to the back with the rest of the girls.

More jazz moves were thrown in for the first part of the verse while the back people did more flips and cartwheels and back handsprings behind them. The guys had turned around so they had their back on the girl's back. The girls linked their arms with the guys and flipped them over their backs, landing the men in front and sending the audience in an uproar of excitement. It really was amazing that they could do that, considering the size difference.

Another group of six, three boys and three girls, headed for the back while the rest of the group did a sequence of jump out with their arms straight out, swinging the right arm in front of them across their body so the palm was facing them for four counts and grabbing another partner and jumping over them into a high jump with their legs straight out, landing on their feet. Meanwhile, during that same part, the group of six in the back where setting up to send Kari back into the air.

"I really wish she wouldn't keep volunteering to be the flyer," TK moaned as he watched nervously, fearing the worst would happen.

"Relax, TK, she's done it so many times before," Tai reminded the young blond, but he too was nervous.

"What are you two freaking about? She just did it a bit ago," Matt cut in, knowing he was missing something.

"This is totally different," Daisuke supplied him with an answer.

"How?"

"Watch." They had her up in the air and she was standing straight and tall. She began to move her upper body to the beat, adding in a disco point and following along with the other girls on the floor.

"And here so goes," Tai said and bit down on his lip. Matt watched where Kari was going with this.

"This must be, pop," As soon as that part started, Kari jumped out of the builders' arms and did a somersault in the air, straitening herself out before she hit the ground, landing on her feet perfectly.

"Yes!" Tai and TK pumped their fists into the air and Matt blinked in awe.

"I'm surprised she didn't break her ankle!"

"She almost did when they were first learning it," TK informed him.

"Hence why we were freaked out," Tai filled in.

Everyone the floor did the same sequence of jump forward, and hand push and a lean to the left, same on the right, and a step to the right with the left foot behind, swirling their arms around in a circle so that they were pointing to the ground.

More hip-hop was thrown in for half of the team while the other half showed off their flexibility with several front and back hand-springs in a row. More moves from the music video were thrown into the routine until the next chorus.

Six girls did a sequence of cartwheel, round-off, somersault, step left, right, back, and up at the back of the stage. Another six did that same sequence in the reverse order in the front of the stage. Three guys did another dance sequence from the video on the right side of the stage and on the left side, that same sequence was also backwards, being done by the other three guys. All the while, the girls were moving into window formations and guys had formed into triangles on the side of them.

All twelve girls did another high jump, pushing their legs out in front of them slightly so not to hit one another and landing on the word "pop" in the splits with their right leg in front and left leg behind.

The girls acted like they were tired and the guys just smirked at them, giving the song some character.

Two girls marched over to each guy and began their game of "Copy-Cat" where the male did one thing and the girls had to repeat it. Somewhere in the middle of it all, one of the girls was hoisted onto the guy's and other girl's shoulders, having her feet planted there firmly. Then there was a part in the music that had some sort of a soaring sound, like an engine almost, only it was a heavy guitar riff (Matt knew right away what key and fret it was as well).

"This is the only part I'll never understand how they did it," Tai commented and pointed to Kari and Mimi who were the two girls in the middle.

"Huh?" As the guitar riff was played, Kari and Mimi were thrown threw the air like javelins, soaring over one girl's head and landing in the other girl's arms at the end of the line. Just like with Kari's somersault and the girls flipping the guys, this stunt was rewarded with wild cheers of praise and approval.

The girls were set down from their higher positions with the beat of the song and all eighteen cheerleaders jumped forward. Ten of them (three boys and seven girls) ran to the very back of the stage while dancing to make it not look like running. Five of them (two boys and three girls) set themselves in the middle, just far enough ahead of the first large group and the last group of three stopped in the front, right before the judges' table. There was a pop dance sequence and then they began forming their last stunt. They had eight counts to pull it off. The first group in the front had it easy. They just had to half two outside people get down on one knee and have Jun stand on their knees that were up.

The middle group had a slightly harder formation. It was the same as the first group's, only in addition, there were two girls on the boys' knees facing forward and they were holding up Mimi on their thighs.

But the last group had it the hardest. It was the first and second group's formation combined with even further advances. There were three boys on the ground, two on their knee and holding up one girl each and a third in the back of the whole formation so it didn't fall over. Two more girls were sitting on the boys' outer shoulder so that the audience and judges could see them. On the thighs of the two girls on the boys' knees was another girl standing straight up with right arm extended out with a fist and her left arm up close to her body in another fist, much like a fighting stance. Sitting on her shoulders was another girl with her hands wrapped around Kari's ankle who was the top of the pyramid-type stance. She was balancing herself on one leg with her other leg crossing the first and her arms folded up across her chest.

"This must be, pop," On the "pop" the middle girl's arms went into the fighting stance and Kari folded her leg and arm with a quick nod. The crowd erupted with cheering and the group waited until the count of four before letting everybody drop down.

"That was…wow," Matt breathed out, eyes practically bulging from their sockets.

"Told you you'd be impressed," Tai teased his friend who was still watching in fascination.

"Doesn't your sister ever get scared doing that kind of stuff?"

"Tch, no. It's Kari. Kari has no fear. She gets her courage from me," Tai stated proudly.

"Easy, Ego," Matt said jokingly, holding up his hands defensively. Tai narrowed his eyes and slapped him behind the head playfully.

"Knock it off you two, you're suppose to be supporting the team, not making fun of each other," TK intervened and pushed their faces away from each other.

"Stop touching me with your sweaty palms," Matt whined and swatted at TK's hand.

"Ha! See, it's not that fun, is it? Is it?" Tai shouted suddenly, referring to the previous day when Matt had done the same thing to him.

"Oh shut up," the pale boy grumbled and glanced over to Daisuke. Eyebrows going up in alarm, he poked Tai in the arm frantically.

"Did he pass out again?" he whispered to his partner-in-crime and pointed at the younger boy. Daisuke was curled up in the chair he had sat in when they first arrived, sweating bullets and panting heavily. Tai placed his hand on his brother's forehead again and pulled back at the impact.

"Shit!"

"What?" TK and Matt questioned together.

"It spiked up," Tai replied in terms of the fever. Daisuke reopened his eyes and stared at the three older boys.

"Are you okay?" TK asked warily, not quite sure of what was going on. Daisuke shook his head slowly, a dazed and confused look glazing his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Tai continued the interrogation, standing up to dig through his pockets for the thermometer. Daisuke needn't reply as his stomach soon heaved and he leaned forward, hand flying up to his mouth on impulse.

"Swallow it!" Tai ordered. TK reached over onto his other size and came up with an empty McDonald's bag. Handing it to Daisuke wordlessly, he leaned back and plugged his ears. It didn't help much for he could still hear Daisuke gag and vomit. Tai cringed at the noise and shook his head.

"That's it," he snapped and marched over to his mother, tugging on her sleeve firmly.

"Tai?" Matt called after him. Tai paid no heed and waited for his mother's attention.

"What is it, Tai?" Ami questioned without facing her son.

"Daisuke's sick," he replied shortly before turning on his heel and leading her towards the preteen. By this point, the young boy had stopped tossing his cookies and was lying on his side, moaning in his own agony.

"Daisuke? Honey, what's wrong?" Ami knelt down in front of him and felt his forehead as well.

"He's been sick for the past two days and vomiting since then. He had a fever this morning," Tai filled in while the two blond brothers stood back to watch.

"What was it at?" Ami asked as she felt for his pulse.

"Um, 102 and it's definitely gone up since then," Matt answered, wanting to feel at least semi-helpful. A mixture of fear, concern, and anger crossed over Ami's face as she stood up, pulling Daisuke into her arms as she went.

"Who's staying here and who's coming with me?" she spoke as she grabbed her purse as well.

"Where?" Tai countered.

"We're taking him to the hospital," Ami replied and briskly started to walk out of the competition room.

"I'll stay here with Kari. She can't leave before the results are announced," TK volunteered and sat back in his chair, scanning the area for his girlfriend.

"Then I'm going," Tai said after this, following behind his mother closely. He turned back and stared at Matt who was still sitting down.

"Matt?" The blond-haired male looked up at the sound of his name. Worried brown eyes were staring at him pleadingly.

"Are you going to come with us?" Tai's eyes continued to silently beg. Matt felt his resolve beginning to crumble, already standing up before he could stop himself.

"I'm going," he decided and followed the family out, hailing a taxi out front and heading for the hospital.

* * *

"Tai, will you please sit down? You're going to wear a trench into the floor," Matt warned his brunet friend who was currently pacing around in front of him. He showed no signs of slowing down either. Ami was in the ER with Daisuke and the doctor, leaving the two boys to sit in the waiting room. More like, Matt to sit and Tai to be restless. 

"When are they going to find out what's going to happen?" Tai growled through his teeth, pulling at a few loose strands of hair.

"Beating yourself up isn't going to help anything, so I want you to sit down before you hurt yourself," Matt commanded, grabbing Tai by the wrist and pulling him down next to him. Reluctantly, the dark boy settled down and continued to fiddle with his hands.

"Tai, you have to calm down. You're automatically assuming the worst, and don't you dare say you're not because I know you," Matt said hastily as he saw Tai's mouth set to protest. Tai closed it and stared straight ahead, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. He propped his elbows up on his knees and buried the palms of his hands into his eyes.

"You just don't understand," he muttered, keeping his eyes covered and his head low.

"What don't I understand then? Fill me in," Matt shot back, leaning over towards Tai cautiously.

"I can't…maybe later, but not right now," Tai sniffed slightly, showing no signs of letting up. Matt shut his mouth and looked to his left where he noticed Ami walking towards them gravely.

"So what's wrong?" Matt questioned, causing Tai to look up at the return of his mother. Ami sat down on the other side of Tai and bit down on her lip, a habit exhibited by both mother and son alike.

"Apparently, his appendix had ruptured sometime between the time you came down to the competition and the time we arrived here."

"It ruptured?" both boys said in disbelief, gawking at Ami for clearance.

"It ruptured. He's in surgery right now. They say he'll have to stay for at least five days for examination and observation. Apparently, more complications can occur when it ruptures versus it just becoming infected," she repeated what the doctors had told her. Matt blinked in surprise and Tai visibly paled, both still staring at her in confusion.

"He'll have to stay overnight?" Tai asked, glancing back in the direction Ami had just come from.

"He'll have to stay here for many nights," Ami clarified for him.

"Right."

"Tai, he'll be fine."

Tai looked up and swallowed deeply, shaking his head sadly. "Sure. Whatever you want to believe," he spoke in a low tone, pushing himself away from his chair and walking down the hall.

"Tai?" Matt called after him, getting up onto his own feet. Tai quickened his pace once he sensed Matt was going to follow him.

"Tai, come back!" Matt shouted again and sped up. Tai broke into a run and burst out of the hospital, running down the sidewalk in a blur of brown. Matt started his own sprint, preparing himself for the chase of his life.

"Nobody ever told me that being friends with Tai involved lots and lots of exercise," he said to himself and turned the corner, weaving his way around to stop his best friend from getting too far.

* * *

Matt dragged himself into the hotel four hours later, walking past the dining room where his brother, Ami, and Kari sat, silently eating a light dinner. Pulling a U-Turn in the middle of the hall, he wandered into the room and stood behind TK's chair. 

"Did Tai come in through here?" he questioned hopefully, directing the question mostly at the females. Kari shook her head no and continued to pick at her chicken. Matt rubbed his temples heavily and sighed.

"Where the hell could he have gone? It's nearly seven o'clock!"

"I just hope he didn't get lost," Ami brought up an interesting point that Matt never considered. He always just assumed that Tai had a keen sense of direction. But maybe he didn't. He shrugged in response to Ami and stood up to his full height.

"I'm just going to crash in the room. Maybe he came back," he said, mostly to reassure himself. Ami nodded and sent him off.

"Let us know if you do find him, won't you, Matt?"

"I will," Matt promised and exited the eating area, trudging into the elevator and riding to his floor. Pulling out the key, he slid it into the lock and opened the door, closing it behind him soundlessly. To his surprise, and much to his relief, he found Tai lying on the bed staring at the TV screen which remained black.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over town for you!" Matt yelled, storming over to the bed. Tai didn't move a muscle, still staring intently at the screen.

"Tai?"

"…I did this to him," Tai whispered out of nowhere. Matt gave him a puzzled look and sat down next to him.

"What?"

"Daisuke. I got him hospitalized," Tai simplified his words.

"No you didn't. How could you have possibly done that?" The two mud-colored irises looked up at the blond, shining with unshed tears.

"I should have told Mom right away that he was sick. Then he could have gotten checked out sooner and maybe they could have removed his stupid appendix before it exploded," the Japanese boy explained his theory that he had been toying with all afternoon.

"Tai, stop beating yourself up, all right? This is **not** your fault," Matt said firmly. Tai shook his head furiously.

"You don't get it."

"You told me this earlier. Maybe if you explained it to me, I **would** get it." Matt scowled at him. Tai took in a deep breath and nodded.

"I did the same thing to Kari. She had a cold one day and I was supposed to be watching her, but I was stupid back then. All I wanted to do was play soccer and she seemed fine and everything. So I took her outside and she collapsed. Something about pneumonia due to outside exposure, I can't really remember. I was young. Point being, she almost died. **Died**, Matt. Just like Daisuke almost died."

"Daisuke did not almost die," Matt reminded him.

"You can die if you don't remove the ruptured appendix. It was almost too late. That qualifies as almost dying!" By this time, Tai was almost in high hysterics.

"Tai, you need to chill. Daisuke will be absolutely fine."

"I know…I'm just…"

"You're just what?" Matt nudged him to continue, tracing small patterns on Tai's back.

"Worried. Scared. Ultimately freaked out," Tai replied with a shaky breath. "He really did scare me today. I just feel bad about yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

"When I was fighting with him. I shouldn't have provoked him when he wasn't feeling well. Maybe that's what caused it to explode…"

"Oh please! Tai, you can't make somebody's appendix rupture by fighting with them! It was **just** a coincidence," Matt stressed this point to his friend. Tai's lower lip quivered still and one lone tear slipped down his face.

"I know…" his voice cracked and he allowed more tears to fall at a rapid pace. Alarmed by the sudden display of emotion, Matt draped his arms around Tai's frame and pulled him closer.

"You are too emotional, you know that?" he said rhetorically in attempt to lighten the mood. He failed, he noticed, when Tai continued to cry silently. Matt hugged him tighter, waiting for the storm to pass, and he knew that it would be quite some time before the brunet would calm down. He couldn't think straight when he was shaken up this badly, but Matt didn't hold it against him. He continued holding Tai gently, whispering soft, comforting words into his ears and brushing the tears away. And it was then it suddenly clicked.

'_For everything he's ever done for me, I've been grateful and unsure of how to return the favor. This is it. This is my gift to him…I hope he appreciates it.'_ Matt thought to himself and looked down at the brunet who had fallen silent. With a smile, he saw that the brown eyes had closed and the tears had almost become non-existent. He knew he wouldn't have to worry about Tai being ungrateful and even though he was just as emotionally-drained as the boy in his arms, he knew it was all worth while. Careful not to awaken Tai and also being careful not to fall off of the bed in the process, Matt leaned over and snapped off the bedside lamp. In the darkness, he continued to admire the other boy. His thoughts drifted back to the water cave and to Christmas.

'_A kiss is just a simple reminder to show someone you care.'_ An old phrase ran through his mind as he continued looking down at Tai, brushing hair away from his tanned face.

"It's not like he'll know anyway," Matt told himself over and over again, leaning closer to Tai's full lips and eliminating any space that was between them. Bringing his own lips down onto Tai's, he brushed them lightly over the dry, smooth patches of red. Pulling away, he gave off his own half-smile, leaning against the headboard of the bed. He closed his own eyes and pulled Tai just a bit closer, much like a child would with a favorite stuffed animal.

Somewhere in the darkness, Tai smiled to himself and gladly snuggled closer, enjoying the warm comfort he was receiving.

* * *

Again, it's edited (you should be expecting this by now, haha). Humm, yeah, I don't know what else to write here. 

Thanks to: **Burning Angemon**, DawnAurilain, **nEo**, DarkMetalAngel of Destruction, **CartoonHeroes**, Cay, **Lil Gold Fishie**, SnakeMistress, **The Kaizeress**, Sillie, **Squrlie Jack**, Dreamcrafter, **LeoChris**, Keep-onxRocking, **Crushed Lily**, Ephraime, **Shadow-Seraph**, Prince Izzy1, **anonymus**, Octavo, **missa1**, LuV2Writ3, **Faye Arashi**, LadyK Na-No-Da, **Sovereign of Silence3**, Melissa-T, **Black Mirror,** Sen-Tay, and **Kaiya5**.


	10. Promise

_**When there is an unknowable, there is a promise.**_

_**-Thornton Wilder**_

* * *

For the next three days, Tai wasn't himself and everyone could tell. The cheerleaders attempted to make him feel better by going out and buying him a personal chocolate cake, only half of which he ate. The other half was still sitting in the mini-fridge, pushed into a far corner. TK attempted to make him feel better by cracking his usual corny jokes and playing video games with him, in which most cases Tai lost against him. Kari had her own share of attempts by taking him shopping around town, mostly watching her buy things for herself with Christmas money she received. 

The only one who hadn't tried anything was Matt. So far, the only thing the blond had done to help out his friend was accompany him to the hospital to visit Daisuke. Those visits often did more damage then help to the brunet's emotions, leaving Matt to pick up the pieces and make sure Tai made it back to the hotel before he collapsed and slept for the rest of the day. It was routine by this point in time. The boys would go and visit the youngest Yagami-Motamiya sibling and Ami, who had been staying at the hospital with her son, they would leave by noon, Tai would start to feel guilty and blame himself again, they would arrive at the hotel once more, Tai would sleep until dinner, and Matt would wander downstairs to the competition with TK.

Naturally, Matt felt guilty about just giving up on trying to help cheer up his best friend, but what could he possibly do? Tai was too stuck on the idea that it was his fault and there was definitely no way to convince him otherwise at the current time.

And besides, the blond had his own problems to worry about.

"Guys, guess what day it is?" TK brought up at the breakfast table. Matt reached over for the bottle of syrup and proceeded to drown his waffles.

"Uh, Friday?" the older boy answered his brother. TK rewarded him with a frown and shook his head.

"I meant besides Friday," he replied. Tai chewed on a piece of sausage thoughtfully before grinning slowly.

"New Year's Eve," he answered. TK's eyes glimmered in excitement.

"Exactly; I knew you two were smart," he said with a smug expression. Tai snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, what's so exciting about New Year's? It's not like we have anything to do, we're in a stupid hotel," he said through a yawn and a scowl.

"Easy, Negativity. It was just a comment and besides, who says we don't have anything to do?" Kari appeared out of nowhere, leaning herself against the back of TK's chair with a small smirk on her lips.

"I'm not negative, I'm just tired," Tai protested and rubbed at his eyes.

"What are you trying to imply, Kari?" Matt brushed off Tai's attitude and focused on the brunette in front of him. Sitting down on TK's lap (since there weren't any more chairs), she took a sip of his orange juice and smiled.

"Well, because we did so well," she began but was interrupted quickly.

"Well? Try we got second place, baby!" Jun crashed into the table, landing on top of Tai in the process. Tai raised his eyebrow and laughed.

"Morning, blurball," he greeted the eccentric girl. Jun winked in return and sat up.

"Right, so we got second. Anyway, so I came up with this plan," Kari started talking again but was once again interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"Uh, you came up with a plan? I do believe it was a team effort, missy-miss!" Mimi stated and leaned against the back of Matt's chair. Kari narrowed her eyes and sighed.

"All right, we got **second** place and **we **came up with a plan. Is that better?" she asked her two teammates. Both of the other girls nodded and smiled. "Good. Okay, so we thought about it and we decided we're going to throw a New Year's party!" Kari beamed as she finally got her point across.

"Yeah, we're going to hold it in Alice and Auttie's room," Mimi added into the discussion.

"Question is, are you guys in?" Jun finished with a slight twinkle of mischief in her eye. The three boys exchanged glances with each other and then back at the girls, each one with the same thought running through his head.

'_This is gonna be wild.'_

"We're in," Tai spoke for the group, suddenly coming back to life.

"We are?" TK said warily.

"Of course, why not? Parties are awesome. Wait, that means we gotta buy food and supplies and stuff!" Tai suddenly exclaimed and shoved the last waffle into his mouth, swallowing it down with a gulp of orange juice. "The girls need help picking out stuff, so hurry up guys. I'm going up to get dressed, just hang tight everybody!" he explained in a rush, pushing Jun off of his lap and darting for the elevator, dashing in to go back up to his and Matt's room.

"…wow," Matt said in awe at the sudden reaction from his best friend. The three girls shared a similar triumphant grin and giggles arose from them.

"Told ya it would work," Kari said to her companions.

"Yeah, but who knew it would work so well?" Mimi replied.

"Who cares, I'm just happy it did," Jun voiced her own thoughts.

"Whoa there, chickies, what's going on?" TK interrupted the excited chatter of the females. The three turned their heads back towards the blond brothers and smiled the same proud smiles.

"Okay, you can't tell Tai this," Kari began.

"At all, because he will flip out on us," Mimi took over.

"And then we'll just be right back where we started," Jun finished up the sentence.

"Are you sure you three don't share the same brain or something?" Matt quirked an eyebrow and set down his fork. The three shared another glance and nodded.

"Well, it is possible," Kari replied.

"Maybe it's just what happens after being friends for so long," Mimi said as she swept her hair back and secured it with a black hair clip.

"Besides, it's not like you and Tai don't do the same thing," Jun reminded Matt as she leaned back in Tai's, or rather her, chair.

"Who cares! Just what are you three talking about?" TK interrupted them suddenly.

"Yeah, what aren't we suppose to tell Tai?" Matt reminded them of the subject at hand.

"Well…we didn't want Tai to be depressed anymore about Dais," Kari said to them and drank the rest of TK's orange juice, much to the blond's protests.

"So truthfully, this all started because it was Daisuke's idea," Mimi filled in and pushed herself away from the back of Matt's chair, insisting that Jun scoot over so she could sit down instead.

"We just finished it. Basically, Daisuke was getting tired of seeing Tai depressed too and came up with the idea to throw a party because, well, Tai loves parties. It'll definitely cheer him up and besides," Jun began to wrap up the entire point they were trying to make.

"Daisuke's being released tomorrow morning!" all three of the girls chorused simultaneously.

"Really?" TK blinked in surprise at the idea.

"Isn't that kind of soon?" Matt also blinked in surprise.

"Nah, they examined him and they're not finding anything wrong. Mom told me all of this this morning, but you can't tell Tai **anything! **We want it to be a surprise." Kari winked secretively and glanced back towards the door. Tai came charging into the room, dressed out of his sweats and into a pair of dark green pants and a black t-shirt. Written in red across the front was, "Curiosity Killed The Cat, But For A While, I Was The Suspect."

"Okay, ready to go!" the hyper brunet grinned widely.

"How many shirts with sayings on them do you have?" Jun laughed and got out of her chair.

"Too many to count, **way** too many to count," Tai replied and dragged his sister onto her own feet.

"Aren't you cold?" Matt asked, noticing that his best friend was wearing nothing over his short-sleeved shirt.

"No. Should I be?" Tai tilted his head to the side like he often did when he was confused.

"Um, well it's only the middle of the **winter!**" Matt exclaimed and gestured to his own body covered in his black Volcom hoodie and dark blue jeans.

"What are you wearing under that?"

"Say what?" Both of the older blond's eyebrows shot into his hairline, leaving Tai to appear innocent.

"What are you wearing under that?" the darker boy repeated himself.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because, if you're dressed in layers, you'll be warmer!" Tai said off of the top of his head. Kari, Mimi, and Jun exchanged more glances, letting each other know that they knew Tai just wanted to see Matt's body.

"A shirt," Matt replied hesitantly, unsure of where this whole conversation was going.

"Which one?" Tai asked a new question, not about ready to give in until he got the answers he wanted. He failed to notice the fact that TK was rolling his eyes. He also failed to notice the fact that Kari was standing behind him and mouthing, "Horny bastard" behind his back. Matt sighed and tucked him arms into the sweatshirt, lifting it off of his head. Underneath was yet another black shirt, only this was much different than the kind Tai had seen on his best friend before. This one had orange writing, tiny letters that read, "The dark carnival presents" and below it in very large letters, "Insane Clown" written in the same orange with a blue shadow. Under the words was a picture of two clowns, decorated with black and white face paint, one blond and one brunet, each with a cynical, crazed look on their face. Finishing off, the word "Posse" was printed below the psycho clowns. Tai's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"Fucking scary clowns!" he shouted loudly and covered his eyes with his hands, attracting the attention of more then a few guests in the hotel.

"Tai, quit being so loud! You're starting to scare the other people!" Mimi scolded the older boy from her spot at the table. Matt gave his friend a questioning look.

"What in the hell…" Kari sent the blond an apologetic look and shrugged.

"Have we ever mentioned Tai's deathly terrified of clowns?" she said offhandedly as she tried to pry her brother's hands away from his eyes.

"No, Kari! The clowns will get me!" Tai whined and kept his eyes squeezed shut, backing away from the group. Matt stared at his friend for a few moments before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Tai, it's just a shirt, and it's just ICP. What's so freaky about clowns anyway?" he questioned the brunet.

"Just get rid of the fucking things!" Tai yelped as he crashed into the wall behind him.

"Y'know, I think that's the first time I've heard you say fuck. Good goin', Ace," Matt congratulated the Japanese boy and slipped his sweatshirt back onto his thin frame. "Okay look, Tai, no more clowns." Tai cracked open one eye and peered at the blue-eyed boy through his fingers. Seeing that it was safe, the eccentric teen dropped his hands from his eyes and grinned.

"Good." He shoved his hands into his pockets and resumed his cheery nature quickly.

"That was kind of weird," TK commented.

"Oh shut up," Tai snapped back and smiled brightly. "Are we gonna get going or what?" he asked rhetorically and proceeded to pull Mimi and Matt up out of their chairs, leaving TK to stand on his own (which he didn't really mind because he wasn't too keen on Tai touching him in the first place).

"Yes, we're going. Everybody chipped in some money to pick up all of the supplies," Mimi said and grabbed her jacket from off of the back of her chair.

"What kind of stuff are we going to need?" TK questioned the girls as he linked his arm with Kari's, following the group out of the dining room and into the lobby.

"Well, we came up with a list." Jun reached into her back pocket and pulled out a large sheet of pink paper.

"Hey, that's mine!" Mimi whined and pointed at the stationary adorned with sparkles and a large silver M written in cursive.

"Well, that was the only kind of paper we could find on short notice," Kari explained to her best friend with a shrug. Mimi sighed in response and waited for Jun to begin to read off the items.

"Auttie, Alice, Ai, Shiuchon, and Itami helped me make this list so if some of the things sound out of place, you know why," Jun warned the group and cleared her throat to read.

"We will be needing the following items to hold an ultra-fabulous party: candy…wait, scratch that, **lots** of candy. Sodas, ice cream, preferably Rocky Road or Cookies N Cream, chips, a deck of cards, a glass bottle, Lavender incense, paper plates straws, cups, a stopwatch, a blindfold, a flashlight, batteries, silly string, confetti, noisemakers, paint, marshmallows, tarot cards/Ouija board…" Jun stopped reading abruptly and pulled out a black pen.

"The last thing we need is Alice trying to summon up some killer ghost and tell our fortunes about our death after finding love and winning the lottery," Kari pointed out while Jun crossed both items off of the list.

"We'll buy her fortune cookies; she can still do the same thing," Mimi decided and Jun wrote out "fortune cookies" on the list. Placing the pen back in her pocket securely, she continued reading.

"Whipped cream, chocolate sauce, duct tape, white bed sheet, safety pins, scissors, bouncy balls, Legos, permanent marker, make-up, and one silver slinky."

"Oh, and we need music too!" Mimi pointed at the list, showing that music wasn't on it.

"Well, we figured Matt could help out with that, he's got about 110 CDs with him," Kari said and poked the blond boy in the chest. "Think we can use them for tonight?" Matt shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah sure, that's no problem. After all, it's our party too." The other two males nodded in agreement.

"That's true. What time did we agree to start this party, you two?" Kari looked over at her female companions.

"We figured we could order pizzas at seven and go from there," Jun said and Mimi nodded.

"Well then, let's get everything we need and figure out what we're going to do with all of it." Kari clapped her hands together and started to direct everybody out of the hotel.

"Party!" Tai squealed and took off running, narrowly missing crashing headlong into the automatic glass doors.

"Tai, you gotta wait for us!" Matt shouted after him and began running at his own pace.

"No! You stay away from me, Clown-Worshipper!"

"Tai, I am **not** a clown-worshipper!"

TK looked back at the girls and blinked. "Think we should catch up with them?" he asked as he led Kari out of the lobby at a much more normal pace.

"Nah, Tai knows where to go," Kari replied and leaned into TK's embrace.

"And besides, we all know Matt's going to follow Tai wherever he leads him," Mimi added as she and Jun followed the couple.

"Yep, he's made that perfectly clear over the past few days." Jun nodded to herself thoughtfully. Mimi sighed wistfully and walked along with her friends.

"What?" Kari looked back at the strawberry-blonde girl at the sound of her sigh.

"Oh, nothing," she replied airily.

"Okay then." Kari shrugged and turned her head around again. Mimi stared at her silently, walking along in TK and Kari's path.

"It's just," she began followed by a groan from TK. "I just wish your brother would tell Matt how he really feels about him and get it over with!" Kari's eyes went wide and she turned again to face Mimi, sending her a look to shut up. TK raised an eyebrow and looked at Kari skeptically.

"Yeah because it's pretty obvious Matt feels the same way…somewhere in his little black heart," Jun continued talking, also earning herself a shut up look. TK kept his jaw firm and his eyes inquiring as he turned Kari's head back towards him.

"What are they talking about?" he asked her seriously. Kari gave her boyfriend a nervous grin in return.

"Um…how would you feel about our brothers dating?" she asked, laughing slightly as TK's face changed from confusion to shock.

"Oh lord…" The blond boy covered his eyes with his hat and continued walking down the street. The two girls in the back giggled and Kari rubbed TK's neck.

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed anything," she said through her own giggles.

"I was just hoping I was imagining things," he moaned mostly to himself.

"Nope, welcome to the world of the Yagami clan!" Kari grinned cheerfully and the three girls herded the now-bewildered TK into a store on their right.

* * *

"Where do you think they are?" Jun asked as the group of four traveled up and down the various aisles. 

"Yeah, you'd think they'd be here by now," Mimi commented as she poked at a large blue balloon.

"Are you sure Tai knew where he was supposed to go?" TK asked doubtfully, occupying himself with a candy bar he found in his pocket.

"Well, he should know. Unless he decided to take Matt somewhere else…" Kari trailed off as they stopped moving completely, each trying to figure out what to do next. They weren't standing for long before they heard a rolling sound in the distance.

"Heads up, everybody!" Tai shouted as he and Matt coasted towards them, Tai standing in a shopping cart and Matt riding on it like a scooter. The four younger teens jumped back in surprise, allowing the cart to whiz by them and turn around the corner. Jun was the first to recover from the dumbfounded state.

"Well, we found them!" she said cheerfully as she turned on her heel and bounced around the corner as well. It wasn't until they heard a rather loud crash that the others hurried after her. The shopping cart was now tipped on its side with Tai sprawled on the floor, Matt in front of him and Jun to the side snickering at their misfortune. After all, how were they to know that there was a display case of hair glitter around that corner?

"Are you two okay?" Mimi asked immediately and helped the blond to his feet.

"Hey, what about me?" Tai whined from his place on the floor, laying flat on his back in the middle of the aisle. Mimi rolled her eyes but heaved the brunet up as well.

"We're fine, but man, that was fun!" Matt laughed and brushed some dirt off his shoulder.

"You two are such morons, has anybody ever told you that?" TK asked rhetorically as he and Kari joined the group around the corner.

"Yeah, plenty of times!" Tai gave the younger blond a wide grin.

"Oh good grief," Kari said with an eye roll, but shared a grin with her brother.

"Anyway, now that we've made complete retards of ourselves, let's get this shopping done all right? We officially have," Matt stopped talking long enough to look at his watch. "Okay, we officially have seven and a half hours left until this party gets started."

"That's quite a long time, you know," Mimi pointed out and leaned against the now-upright cart.

"While this is true, when dealing with these two," Kari jabbed her thumb in the direction of Tai and Matt. "It's hard to get stuff done in a short amount of time." Tai blinked at the statement and tilted his head to the side, feeling rather puzzled.

"I don't know whether to resent that or absolutely agree with her," he stated after quite some time, resulting in a few face-faults from his friends.

"Honestly, Taichi, you are the densest person I've ever met," Jun sighed and shoved her hands deeper into her pockets.

"That's why you love me though, right?" Tai looked over to Jun with his large puppy-eyes, causing the younger girl to sigh and shake her head.

"No, Tai, I don't love you at all. I just hang out with you for lack of anything else!" she swatted the brunet behind the head, even though he would never feel the impact thanks to his big cushion of hair. "Of course I love you, idiot."

"Yay! I feel loved!" the older boy all but squealed as he threw himself at Jun. Thankfully, after years of this kind of experience, Jun was able to brace herself so she didn't tip over. Matt looked on with wary eyes, carefully analyzing Jun's actions. He didn't really need to be concerned about what Tai was doing because, well, Tai was flirty with everybody apparently. It was just his typical flamboyant nature, even though Matt disapproved of it. But Jun however, he had no clue what to expect.

Matt had spent the whole week watching his best friend be flirted with by random girls he knew nothing about. But he didn't really mind about that. The worst part though was Tai flirting back. Truthfully, the blond wouldn't mind in any other circumstance; that is, if it wasn't for the fact that Tai also flirted with him.

Time and time again, Matt had told himself that he didn't want Tai to be flirting with him at all. But now, he was starting to like the extra attention from the Japanese boy. He was getting used to it and subconsciously, he was flirting right back. Not that he would ever admit it, of course. Normally, the idea of flirting with anybody, much less another male, really crept him out. However, once again, dealing with Tai was a whole other circumstance.

Needless to say, having Jun and Sora and half of the cheerleading squad hitting on Tai didn't make Matt happy. Not one bit.

"Anyway! If you guys want to keep goofing off, that's fine with me. But I for one would like to buy the party stuff and go set up," Kari announced loudly and grabbed the cart in front of her. She was getting annoyed with the fact that she was the only one who seemed serious about the whole idea and she was going to let them know it.

"Kari's right. Let's get this show on the road, kay?" Mimi looked up from examining a can of the glittery hairspray. "Besides, by the time we finish shopping, we can grab lunch!" she winked and tossed the can into the shopping cart.

"Lunch?" Three pairs of eyes blinked as the males stared at her.

"Yeah, lunch. Some of us didn't eat breakfast you know," Kari reminded them as she began to push the cart down the aisle.

"Besides, you can't tell us you're going to pass up another meal, are you?" Jun asked rhetorically as she linked her arm with Tai's, marching him forward after the others.

"I'd have to say no to that one," Tai replied as he grinned widely and fell into step with the other girl. The two blond boys blinked and suddenly snapped into action.

"You can't just leave us behind!"

"Kari, I thought you loved me!" Both boys turned and ran quickly to catch up with their friends, only to have TK trip over his shoelace and crash headlong into a pyramid of toilet paper. With a heavy sigh, Kari reached into the rubble and pulled him up by the collar of his blue polo shirt.

"This may take a while," she commented lightly before turning the corner, beginning the quest of shopping.

* * *

Three carts' full, two hours, and one threat from the store manager later, the group of six walked out of the store, each carrying various bags of supplies. 

"Guys, I'm hungry!" Mimi whined from the rear of the group, dragging her feet and bags on the ground.

"There's a restaurant just ahead. We can stop in there," TK suggested as he herded the entire gang to their left, walking inside a small café of some sorts. It was slightly dark on the inside with disco lights and reading lamps being the only source of light. The windows had the blinds pulled down so no one could see in and no light could come in. Loud rock music blared and bounced off every wall in the building and posters and memorials of bands hung on every available space. Tables were set up in little groups, some meant for two people and others meant for parties of at least twenty, all set with silverware, napkins, and water pitchers.

"You know, for a place that looks small, this actually covers a ton of area," Jun commented as they moved forward to the podium. Reaching for the small gavel, Mimi swung forward and connected with the miniature gong that was placed in front of her. No more then five seconds later did a young man with green hair and violet eyes answer their call.

"Hey, welcome to Kiyo's. Six in your party today?" Without waiting for a reply, the host grabbed six menus and led the teens to a back corner, seating them at a black and red marble table surrounded by a booth.

"Something to drink while you choose your meals?" he asked as he handed out the menus.

"Coke!" Tai and Matt said together, rewarding each other with strange looks.

"Sprite," Kari replied. TK and Mimi nodded in agreement with Kari's choice.

"And I'll take a Sunkist," Jun decided before she buried her nose in the menu. The host nodded and grinned.

"All right, Arial will be right back with your drinks and to take your order!" he said and walked away, heading back into the kitchen areas. The group went back to looking over their menus quietly. That is, until TK decided to speak.

"Isn't Ariel the name of the little mermaid?"

"Yeah…it's a pretty name though," Mimi replied back as she turned the page of the menu.

"Hmm…wonder if there's a pretty face to match such a pretty name," Tai wondered idly as he continued to choose between a normal cheeseburger and a plate of calamari. Matt blinked at him once, taking in the words slowly. For crying out loud, why was Tai suddenly so fascinated with women! Was it just because there were hardly any at the academy? Maybe he was looking into it too much. Yes…that was it. With a sigh, Matt dropped his menu on the table and looked up as a blue-haired male practically skipped over to the table with their drinks.

"All right, who had what?" he asked bluntly, flashing a charming grin their way. Jun and Mimi giggled slightly at this gesture as Tai looked straight into the waiter's bright blue eyes.

"I had the Sunkist," Jun informed him once she had gotten a grip on her giggles. Setting the orange drink down in front of the girl, he curiously looked at the remaining five.

"And the rest goes…" he trailed off. Tai suddenly snapped out of his watchful stupor and pointed at himself and Matt.

"The Cokes belong to us and the rest of them have the Sprites," he said to the bluenette who obediently placed the drinks in the correct locations. Whipping out a pad of paper, he turned to a fresh sheet and grinned again.

"Hey, I'm Arial and I guess I'll be serving you this lovely afternoon. Have you all decided?" he spoke casually and leaned against the outside of the booth.

"I think so," Kari responded with a smile of her own. TK watched her protectively, just to make sure she wasn't about to be reduced to a puddle of mush like Mimi and Jun. "I'll take a teriyaki chicken rice bowl please," she continued as she handed over the menu. Arial jotted down the name of the dish and collected the menu from the young girl's hands.

"I'll take the same," TK said to him, practically throwing the menu into Arial's face. The blue-eyed waiter blinked and caught it easily, writing a number two next to Kari's order.

"I'll take the plate of calamari and noodles please," Tai told the blue-eyed waiter and also handed him his menu, allowing his touch to linger on the waiter's hand just a little longer then normal. However, Arial didn't seem to mind, for in fact, he smiled that same suave grin at the brunet teen.

"Just a regular cheeseburger for me," Matt interrupted quickly, causing Arial to remove his hand from Tai's menu and take his own food booklet.

"What kind of fries would you like with that?" Arial asked as he scribbled out the last few orders on the sheet of paper.

"Regular fries are fine," Matt answered and avoided the other set of blue eyes. Nodding to himself, Arial wrote that down and turned to the last two girls.

"A plate of stir-fry if you don't mind," Mimi said and giggled again, handing over both her and Jun's menus.

"No trouble at all," Arial reassured her and wrote the order, looking back at Jun. "And what about you, miss?"

"Um, I'll take the barbeque ribs with fries," Jun confirmed and leaned back against the booth. Arial nodded again and finished writing, stacking all of the menus together and smiling once more.

"All right, I'll have that out to you soon!" he said to them, adding in a flirtatious wink before he walked away from the table. As soon as he was out of hearing distance, both Mimi and Jun let out identical squeals.

"Cute!" they giggled together.

"You guys, shut up," Kari said to her friends in a joking manner.

"Oh come on, Kar. You can't say you didn't think he was dreamy." Jun poked her friend in the shoulder.

"Yes, I can. He wasn't because I have my own little dreamboat," she replied and pinched TK's cheek lightly.

"Ow, let's not leave marks please!" TK whined and pulled Kari's hand away, rubbing his tender cheek.

"Aw, did I hurt the little baby?" Kari cooed and nuzzled her nose with TK's.

"Yes!"

"Oh get over it," she rolled her eyes and poked him in the forehead, pulling away from his face. TK stuck his tongue out and drank some of his soda, showing Kari that he wasn't going to continue being ridiculed. Jun then decided to change the subject.

"What do you think, Tai?" The mud-eyed boy looked up at his name and gave her a thoughtful expression.

"Well," he started to say as he toyed with his straw. Matt watched him closely, sitting intently and waiting for his answer. Tai fished out a piece of ice from his glass and chewed on it carefully.

'_Oh hurry up and spit it out already!' _Matt bit his lip in agitation and bore his eyes into the side of Tai's head.

"What do I think about what actually?" Tai asked in his confused state. Jun and Mimi both sighed loudly.

"The waiter!" Mimi practically shouted as she pointed across the room where the blue-haired boy was attending to another table. Matt couldn't help it when a sigh of relief escaped his lips. On the bright side, he wouldn't have to worry about Tai's answer to anything.

On the down side, he still didn't know why Tai was so flirty with girls all of a sudden. Tai's face lit up in realization and rewarded the girls with a goofy grin.

"Well, let's just say, I was right about a pretty face matching a pretty name," Tai replied nonchalantly as he slurped up his soda. Matt's relief suddenly turned into alarm and confusion. Whatever he had been expecting from Tai's mouth, that most definitely wasn't it. Wide blue eyes turned to stare at his best friend.

"What?" Matt managed to squeak out as he continued to gawk at his companion, who in turn chewed on his straw as if this were an everyday occurrence.

"What do you mean what?" Tai asked calmly as he lifted his gaze to meet the blond's.

"I-you-but I thought," Matt sputtered and blinked rapidly, unable to keep his thoughts, much less his sentences, coherent.

"Yes?" Tai pressed on and gave the other boy a smirk. The three girls giggled behind their hands at Matt's display of shock and TK rolled his eyes at the display, muttering under his breath about stupid older brothers.

"Are you gay?" he finally managed to spit out, much to his own satisfaction. Tai raised an eyebrow and began to chuckle.

"Uh, no. What gave you that idea?" the brunet smiled at the image his best friend was portraying at the very moment.

"Well, you just said the waiter was pretty! Doesn't that say enough?" Matt practically shouted but then remembered where he was. "You don't just go around saying members of the same sex are pretty! Hell, most guys don't even **like** being called pretty!" he ranted on for a few more moments before he calmed down long enough for Tai to defend himself. Tai propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Look, just because I say some guy looks pretty doesn't mean I'm gay. I just happen to appreciate true beauty when I see it, whether it be male or female. It comes with being an artist," Tai explained to the American boy, keeping his tone calm and rational.

'_Besides, being bi and gay are two totally different things. Now, had you asked me if I was_** bi**, _it would be a whole different story._' Tai watched his friend closely to see if he would buy his story.

"All right, if you say so." Hook, line, and sinker. Tai nodded and looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, looks like our food's here," he announced as Arial came bouncing back, balancing two trays on his hands. Handing out each plate, he shoved the trays under one arm and smiled down at the group.

"Anything else I can get you guys for right now?" he questioned them as he glanced around the table.

"Nope, I think we're good thanks," Matt replied for the group and sent Arial on his way. Out of the corner of his eye, the blond saw that Tai was watching the blue boy prance out of sight. With a sigh, he quietly picked up his cheeseburger and began to devour it.

"Mimi, what's going on between you and Daisuke?" Kari suddenly asked her best friend, swallowing a mouthful of her lunch afterwards. The strawberry-blonde shrugged in response and played with her plate of stir-fry.

"Don't have a clue. It was **his** idea to do the trial thing, not mine!" she pouted at this statement.

"Well, you haven't really done anything to encourage it, now have you?" Tai reminded her as he twirled his noodles around on his plate.

"Well, what am I suppose to do? The poor kid's in the hospital. You can't go on dates in the hospital!" It was then she realized what she had just said. She looked into Tai's eyes fearfully, afraid of what his reaction would be to the fact that Daisuke was still in the hospital. Surprisingly, Tai managed to remain calm and didn't say a word, merely picking apart a piece of his squid.

"…anyway, how should we set up for this party?" Jun hastily changed the subject, wanting to avoid as much conflict as possible. Looking down at his watch, Matt shrugged and shoved a few fries into his mouth.

"Right now, we have five hours until the time we decided on. I suppose we could work on moving furniture, picking out music, decorating, all that jazz," he replied with a swallow.

"That sounds good," TK spoke in agreement for lack of anything else to say. Kari also nodded and turned her head to look at her brother. Judging by the way he was stabbing the bits of squid with his chopstick, she could only assume he wasn't really happy at the moment.

'_Somehow, I have a feeling it's because of what Mimi just said. Of course, I could be wrong…but I doubt it.'_ The younger Yagami shook her head to clear her thoughts, refocusing on her food and the conversation present.

"It shouldn't take us five hours though, should it?" Tai questioned as he took another drink from his glass, being extremely careful to avoid Mimi's eyes.

"Well, if we involve everybody else to help us, including the guys…" Kari trailed off, images of the pure chaos that would most definitely occur coming to her mind.

"We are going to have so many messes and squabbles and basically pure pandemonium to deal with!" Jun exclaimed as she too began to see images in her head.

"Yeah, but that's what makes things fun!" Tai replied cheerfully and gave the girls a wide grin.

"Yeah, you're only saying that because you'll be **causing** most of the chaos," Kari mumbled under her breath.

"I heard that!"

"Good!"

"Now, now, children. Do I have to go find your mother to separate you two?" Both Yagami siblings looked up and landed their gaze on the blond boy wearing a white bucket hat, who had finished his rice bowl and was watching the banter between the two of them.

"Shut up, Takeru!" both of them cried and frowned, sending identical evil glares his way.

"Okay, sorry! Calm down!" TK said with a laugh and held up his hands in mock-defense. Matt snickered at his brother's misfortune and chewed on the last of his lunch, allowing his gaze to wander. It was then he spotted that stupid blue-haired freak skipping over to them again with their bill in hand.

Wait…bill…

"Oh no!" Matt suddenly shouted, causing everybody else to look up from their empty plates.

"What oh no?" Mimi asked him.

"Does anybody have any money left over to pay the bill?" Matt ran a hand through his hair as logical thoughts started to return to him.

"Um…I have a little bit but probably not enough," TK answered and dug some coins out of his pocket.

"How much?" the older blond turned towards his little brother.

"About 630 yen."

"…"

"That's about six dollars in American currency," Mimi informed the confused boy.

"That's **it?** That's all we have?" he sighed in exasperation.

"Well, I might have 525 yen in my pocket…or rather five dollars in your world," Tai corrected himself as he produced a note similar to a five dollar bill and a few extra coins.

"Yeah, that's definitely not going to be enough to pay our stupid check!" Matt yelled and slammed his fist down on the table.

"Whoa, am I interrupting something?" Arial's voice came from somewhere above Matt's head.

"No not really. May we see our check please?" Kari asked politely, holding out her delicate hand to take it from him. Arial tucked the slip into Kari's hand and leaned back against the booth to watch the scene play out.

"What's the total, Kari?" Jun asked as she leaned over her friend's shoulder. Glancing over the numbers briefly, Kari let out a low whistle and set the check facedown on the table.

"Well?" Tai prodded her to speak.

"Well, it seems we're about 2,521 yen short guys," she replied and groaned.

"Uh…"

"That's roughly 24 dollars, Matt."

"Oh all right…wait are you serious! Why didn't anybody think this one through?"

"Do we ever think **anything** through?" Tai shot back another question in return. Matt shrugged and shook his head.

"What seems to be the problem? Not enough cash to pay?" Arial folded his arms across his chest and crossed his left ankle over his right, staring down at the group of teens in front of him.

"No, we don't. What are we going to do now?" Mimi whined as she zipped up her jacket. Arial was about to say something else but his eyes caught sight of something rather interesting on Mimi's jacket.

"You guys are from the Odaiba cheer squad?" the bluenette blinked in surprise.

"Actually, just those three are," TK pointed at the three girls across from him. "But we're all from Odaiba."

"So then you know Auttie," Arial continued on, a rather pleasant smile crossing his lips.

"Yeah, she's on our team. She's back at the hotel actually setting up for a party and how do you know her?" Jun suddenly switched gears in her sentence. Arial laughed out loud and his grin grew wider.

"She's my younger cousin," he explained to them.

"I didn't know Autumn had family in Kyoto," Tai commented as he continued to study Arial's figure.

"That's because she doesn't know that I moved here," Arial replied with a wink sent in Tai's direction, causing the younger teen to look away from him quickly.

"Arial, stop flirting with the customers and get back to work!" a black-haired male shouted from across the room, pointing at a dirty table next to the one he was cleaning himself.

"Hold on, Ryan, jeeze!" Arial shook his head and looked back to the group. "Here's what we'll do. I'll take what money you have right now and I can finish paying for the rest of it, just because you know Auttie and because you guys did great at your competition a few days ago."

"You were there?" Mimi's eyes lit up at the idea that a cute boy was watching her perform.

"Oh yeah, you guys were awesome. Aren't you the flyer that did a flip from way up top and landed on your feet?" he turned his attention towards Kari.

"Actually, it was just a somersault but yeah," she laughed slightly and grinned.

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome. We never did that kind of stuff on my squad…" Arial said thoughtfully.

"You were a cheerleader?" the three males asked him simultaneously, each sharing identical looks that said they were scared of the thought.

"Oh yeah, back when I was in high school. It was originally the end result of a bet I lost, but I stayed with it just for fun. That and basketball wasn't enough."

"**Arial!" **

"All right!" Arial snorted and rolled his eyes, adjusting the earring that was in the cartilage of his left ear. "Ryan can be such a tight-ass sometimes. But anyway, yeah, I'll cover it just because you know Auttie, you guys were awesome, and because you're cute," Arial said to Tai with another charming grin.

"Thanks a lot!" the three girls chorused and began to climb out of the booth with their bags of supplies.

"No big. Have fun during the rest of your stay in Kyoto!" Arial waved them off and took their check and money, disappearing out of sight just as suddenly as he came.

"Tai, are you blushing?" Jun squealed and pointed at his cheeks that were slightly pink.

"No!" the brunet denied angrily and clambered out of the booth.

"Yes you are!" Kari giggled and took TK's hand, helping him out of the booth as well.

"Shut up, Hikari!" Tai growled and began to walk out of the restaurant. The three girls continued to giggle and poke fun at the brunet, not bothering to notice a blond who was shooting a murderous glance at the showy blue-eyed waiter who was currently talking to his black-haired companion.

'_Who does he think he is, telling Tai he's cute? Hello, that's not his job! It's just…not! He can't be saying stuff like that to his customers! Argh!'_ Matt continued to glare as he followed the group outside back onto the streets. He repeated such thoughts in his head as they made their way back to the hotel, the girls still making fun of Tai, Tai still blushing and denying the fact he was blushing, and TK just along for the ride.

Matt didn't realize that Tai wasn't the only one in denial by this point. He just didn't see it in himself. It was easier for him to point out the flaws of other people then of himself.

And yet, maybe having certain thoughts about Tai wasn't as big of a flaw as he thought it was.

* * *

"Hirokazu Shioda! I am going to freakin' kill you if you don't give my hair glitter back!" Mimi shouted as she chased the male cheerleader around the room. 

"It would help if you could catch me!" Kazu continued to taunt her. However, as fate may have it, he crashed right into Matt, who was holding an open can of soda.

"Dude!" Matt yelped as the soda splashed all over the front of his ICP shirt, much to Tai's delight (he was still convinced Matt was a clown worshipper).

"Oops, sorry," Kazu gave him a sheepish grin while Matt gave him another icy glare.

"Now I get to go find another shirt. Grand!" the blond continued to scowl as he started to walk out of the room, taking off his shirt in the process, also much to Tai's delight (he loved it when the other boy removed his shirt, even if he did have a girly upper body). With the other boy out of the room, Tai returned to his task at hand, which was nothing more then arranging the tables in a group to hold all of the food.

"Kari, how much more time do we have to wait?" he whined and flopped down on Autumn's bed.

"Alice and Ai just went down to order pizza. It should be here thirty minutes or less." Kari walked out of the bathroom with her hair fixed up and her make-up reapplied.

"That's a really long time if you think about it," her brother pointed out and rolled onto his stomach, watching the other cheerleaders and TK busy themselves with assigned tasks.

"Well then find a way to entertain yourself!" Kari snapped as she dug through her pockets for her chapstick.

"I don't know how."

"Tai, stop whining!" Matt commanded the brunet as he reappeared in the doorway, dressed in a clean shirt and his dark blue jeans. Instantly, Tai shut his mouth but quickly began to snigger at Matt's shirt.

"Is that true?" he asked while pointing at the swirled white letters that read, 'Drink What You Want, Drink What You're Able, Drink With Me, You'll Be Under The Table".

"I'm not sure," the blonde replied as he smoothed out the fabric of the reddish-pink shirt. "Wanna go back to our room and help me pick out music?"

"Yeah, let's go," Tai said and proceeded to pull Matt out of the room by his wrist and away from the eyes of the curious girls. Autumn, Mimi, Jun, and Kari occupied the empty space Tai had left on Autumn's bed and watched the door.

"Hey Auttie, did we tell you we saw your cousin today?" Kari asked casually as she stretched out on her back, hanging her feet over the edge.

"Huh?" the red-head looked up from the teen magazine in her hand.

"Yeah, his name was Arial," Mimi filled in as she continued to read over Autumn's shoulder.

"You saw Ari? When! Why didn't you guys tell me earlier?" the green-eyed girl shouted in a mixture of excitement and anger, glaring at her three friends.

"Just remembered it," Jun replied and took off her sweatshirt.

"Guys!"

"Auttie, chill. We have a point to this statement other than to watch you freak out," Kari informed her cheerleading friend who proceeded to stop screaming at them.

"Really? What point would that be?" Autumn asked curiously, tilting her head to the side a bit. It was then Mimi went into high hysterics and excited babbles.

"He was totally hitting on Tai and naturally Matt was starting to get jealous but Arial didn't care and he called Tai cute and Tai continued blushing the entire way back to the hotel but we're mad that he didn't just tell Matt that he was bi when Matt asked him if he was gay, even though bi and gay are two different things but anyway, the point is, Arial threatened Matt's security which means that pretty soon Matt will tell Tai how he feels and Tai can claim his prize!" she explained all in one breath and continued bouncing on the bed. Autumn blinked at her long-winded friend and nodded.

"So…what are you trying to say? You think they'll hook up tonight?"

"We hope so. Sora told me that Tai wants to be with Matt so bad. She cornered him on the issue when she went to go visit them in November," Kari said in response as she fiddled with the bedspread.

"What does Matt want?" Autumn shot back and stole the chapstick that was in Kari's other hand.

"He doesn't seem to know," Mimi responded and flipped the page of the magazine.

"You know what's scary though?"

"What?" Jun looked over to the other girl.

"You know the shirt Matt's wearing right now? The under the table one?" Autumn asked rhetorically. "That's a girls' shirt."

"Nu-uh!" Kari yelled and blinked in surprise at the volume of her voice.

"Yeah, it is."

"How do you know, Auttie?" Jun asked. Wordlessly, Autumn lifted up her light pink hoodie and pulled on her t-shirt; the same shirt that Matt was wearing.

"…do you think Matt has any idea what he's wearing?" Mimi questioned and closed the magazine to give her full attention.

"Probably. It wouldn't surprise me any. But I'm willing to bet two Oreos that by the stroke of midnight, those two will kiss." Autumn set down two of the black and white cookies on a plate on the bed between her and Kari. Jun reached over to the food table and grabbed a chocolate fudge brownie filled with walnuts, dropping it on the plate with a 'slap!' sound.

"I bet a brownie that they'll kiss **and** admit their feelings for each other," she said in assurance. Mimi narrowed her eyes and grabbed four packages of M&Ms, spreading them out on the plate around the brownie and the cookies.

"I bet four mini-packs of M&Ms that they'll kiss, admit their feelings, and go further physically all by the stroke of midnight!" she grinned widely, turning to Kari with a smirk on her face, almost as if she was challenging the brunette to do better. Reaching into her pocket, Kari pulled out a box of strawberry-flavored pocky and her beloved strawberry lip gloss along with about 214 yen in coins, throwing all of the items onto the paper plate in the center of the bed.

"I bet all of this junk that they'll be an item by midnight tonight!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, arousing giggles from her companions. Suddenly a tanned hand reached out and snatched the plate and a low voice murmured from behind them.

"I bet I'm going to kill you all if you continue placing bets on what's going to happen tonight between me and my best friend." All four girls jumped and looked behind them, only to spot Tai glaring at them irately with an Oreo hanging out of his mouth.

"Oh come on, Tai…you can't tell me you wouldn't be ecstatic if any of that happened," Kari said to her brother with a nervous grin, seeing how he wasn't showing any signs of letting up his glare any time soon.

"While you're absolutely correct about that, Hikari, that doesn't mean you four can be placing bets. Also, you shouldn't even dare interfere just so one of you can win your bet. If you do, I will not hesitate to skin you alive in front of the rest of the squad. Have I made myself clear?" he glanced at each girl carefully, keeping his low tone in check so no one else could hear him.

"Crystal," all four of them replied together. Tai nodded once and walked away from them, taking the plate with him.

"Hey, give me my lip gloss!" Kari yelled in protest at her brother's retreating figure. Tai narrowed his eyes and took the tube off of his plate of food and money, throwing the item across the room into his sister's hand. He walked out of the room, assumingly back to his own room to find his blond friend.

"Kari, as much as I love your bro, there are times when he's really scary," Autumn breathed out as she watched Tai leave.

"What can I say, Tai's a psycho. Literally." Kari shoved the lip gloss into her pocket. "But anyway, I have a feeling something's going to go down tonight and I will so be the first one to know it!"

"You have to tell the rest of us then because it's only fair," Mimi informed her cheeky best friend as she continued watching the door.

"Don't they go back to the school on the third?" Jun asked as she bounced off of the bed, snatching some potato chips from the bowl on one of the tables.

"Yep. So to sum it up, we have three days, counting tonight I mean, to try and push them together. If we can't do it by then, it's all up to Tai," Kari said in reply and sighed.

"But don't you think Tai has everything under control? I mean really, it seems like he has Matt right where he wants him," Autumn pointed out.

"Seems like and actually having are two different things, Auttie-love. You should know that," another voice burst into the conversation. The four girls looked up and spotted Itami standing behind them, blowing bubbles from her wad of watermelon Bubblicious. "What are we talking about?" the purple-haired girl asked as she snapped another bubble. "Tai and Matt's wanna-be relationship?"

"Exactly," Mimi replied with a nod. Itami nodded in return and grinned.

"Tai has a plan."

"What?" Kari turned to look at her taller friend whose eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Tai has a plan. You can tell by the look in his eyes that tonight he's going to make his move. That and I overheard his phone conversation to Sora."

"When did he call her?" the petite brunette sat up to her full height and gave her undivided attention to Itami.

"Sometime this afternoon…or maybe it was yesterday. I don't know, point is, he was telling her that he has a good idea on how to bag the blond. But of course, he wouldn't come out and say it!" Itami huffed and sat on the floor in front of them.

"That means Sora already knows what's going on…" Kari stated thoughtfully, leaving the other four girls to nod in agreement. Getting off of the bed, Kari pulled TK's cell phone out of her pocket and held up two fingers. "I'll be right back," she said to her friends and headed out into the hall, dialing Sora's home phone number along the way. Sinking down to the floor, she settled herself on the plush carpet and let the phone ring once, twice, and then she answered.

"Moshi moshi, Takenouchi," Sora's voice chirped through the line.

"Sora, it's me, Kari. What's going on between Tai and Matt?" she wasted no time in beating around the bush.

"It's nice to hear from you too, Hikari."

"Sorry Sora, but this is really important!"

"What's so important, Yagami-girl?" Sora used her nickname for her younger friend and waited patiently until Kari calmed herself down.

"Something's going to happen tonight between Tai and Matt and Itami told me that she heard Tai talking to you on the phone sometime recent and that you knew the plan and I really wanna know!" the brown-eyed cheerleader proclaimed and slapped her hand down on the carpet, as if to emphasize her point.

"Chill out, Kar. I know you really want to know because you're worried about what Tai's getting himself into right?" Kari sighed again and closed her eyes, running a hand through her short hair.

"I'm not letting him set himself up for another Haru mishap. I'm just; no! He can't do that to himself again!"

"That's what I said to him too. But you know, somehow, Matt just doesn't seem like the type of person to be a Haru. I could tell right away that he was possessive of Tai and not the fake possessive either. And you know Tai's not going to listen to us anyway. He truly believes that Matt's not like Haru. He's fully convinced…but yeah, Tai told you about our first plan, didn't he?"

"I'm not sure," Kari answered truthfully. After all, her brother seemed to have a knack for thinking up new plans in the blink of an eye.

"Well the first plan was that when I went to go visit them, y'know that one week or so in November, I was going to act all clingy to Tai and basically test out Matt's reaction. We both realized he was becoming a little jealous, which made Tai happy to no end. Of course, he had to pretend like he didn't like me clinging to him and so that he could tell Matt he had no worries."

"So basically, it's the same plan he was having some of us do here. Only not."

"What?" Sora questioned and Kari could just imagine her staring into the phone with her eyebrow raised.

"He was being openly flirty with some of the girls on the squad and they complied to flirting back and that made Matt want Tai's attention and blah. I'm sure Tai's told you this. You two tell each other almost everything." Sora laughed at Kari's blunt statement.

"You're right, Tai did tell me. But he didn't tell me his plan for tonight. He just said he had a plan."

"In other words…"

"He's just going to bite the bullet and dive right in," Sora confirmed Kari's fears. Kari's eyes widened at the thought.

"That's not going to work! That **never** works, ever! Oh, he's so doomed!"

"Not necessarily. Every Friday, Tai sends me emails updating about his progress with Mr. Ishida and from what I'm reading, I think he stands a pretty good chance no matter what he does. Besides, that's pretty much what he did for Christmas." It was Kari's turn to stare into the phone and raise her eyebrow.

"What happened on Christmas?" Sora then realized she had said too much and laughed nervously.

"Um, he gave him a present. Listen Kari, I have to go, I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Wait, Sora!"

"Bye Hikari," Sora said and hung up the phone. Kari stared at the little silver device blankly before hanging up herself, indifferently shoving it back into the pocket of her jeans.

"Fine, if that's how those two wanna play it…let the games begin," she murmured to herself and stood on her own two feet, a sneaky little smile worming its way onto her face as she walked back towards the hotel room, just as Tai and Matt came around one corner with the CDs and Alice and Ai came around the other with the pizzas.

'_This should be fun,'_ the brunette thought to herself with a smirk still planted on her face as she followed the others into the room. _'Most fun indeed.'_

* * *

"Okay, what's next on our agenda for the last party of the year?" Mimi asked the others as she swallowed the last bite of her Hawaiian pizza (without the pineapple, mind you). Everybody was gathered up in a circle on the floor in front of the two beds, each with a paper plate in their lap and listening to a band called Stroke 9 in the background. 

"Well, we have a few options," Jun said as she pulled out a list from under Alice's bed. Izumi leaned over and read over Jun's shoulder.

"Well, we have the options of playing I Never, Spin the Bottle, Truth or Dare, or strip poker," the blonde girl said and looked up at the group once more.

"We are not playing Truth or Dare," Matt immediately protested.

"Why not?" Jun glanced over at the blond male.

"Hello!" Matt shouted and tugged at a lock of black hair that was slowly fading back to blond.

"Oh…well, what about the other three?" Autumn asked everyone.

"Let's play Spin first and then we can play I Never," Junpei suggested as he unwrapped a chocolate bar he grabbed from the table above him.

"What's I Never?" TK questioned from his place next to Kari. Matt shot his little brother a grateful look. At least he knew that he wasn't the only one who didn't have any idea.

"Normally, you play it with vodka but since we don't have any, we'll use marshmallows and whipped cream. Basically one person says something like, 'I've never eaten frog legs'. Anybody who has done so has to put a marshmallow in their mouth and a squirt of whipped cream," Kari explained to refresh the rules to everybody.

"Do you think it really should be a marshie and a squirt of whipped cream?" Mimi inquired and took a drink of her Sprite.

"Okay how about a marshmallow and when we run out of those, whipped cream," Kari compromised.

"Sounds fine, but I think we should skip Spin and just play I Never. We can play Spin later," Hirokazu interjected and snatched a chunk of Junpei's candy, much to the other boy's disapproval.

"You just don't like Spin because you never get kissed," Shiuchon giggled, causing Hirokazu to frown deeper.

"Maybe!"

"Oh please don't start, Kazu. Okay, Ai, grab the marshmallows. Everybody else, get ready," Kari directed the entire group, sending an evil eye to her brother who was completely oblivious of her master plan. Ai threw the package of marshmallows at Kari and they began to distribute them to each person in the room, one fluffy puff each.

"All right, so who's going to start?" Izumi questioned as she got comfortable on her stomach between Junpei and Takato.

"I will!" Itami volunteered and grinned widely, causing all nine males in the room to share identical scared looks. Ignoring their fear, Itami started the game.

"Okay, I've never made out with somebody on a see-saw," she said gleefully. Kari shot the violet-haired girl a murderous look and picked up her marshmallow, shoving it into her mouth and reaching for another. TK, Izumi, and Autumn followed in suit.

"You made out on a see-saw?" Tai raised both of his eyebrows at his sister. In turn, Kari shrugged casually and held her new marshmallow in her hand.

"Well, yeah. What's your point?" she asked him around a mouthful of sugary goodness. Tai shook his head and said no more.

"Okay, my turn," Autumn decided. "I've never gone skinny-dipping." Tai, Noriko, Alice, Ai, Itami, Takato, Hirokazu, TK, Jun, and Shiuchon all popped in their marshmallows, leaving the rest of the group to snicker while the retrieved new ones. Matt stared at Tai and his brother in shock but quickly got over it. It was just skinny-dipping, who cares?

"Me next," Izumi said and smiled at the group. "Okay, I've never egged somebody's house before." Matt was the only one who shoved his marshmallow into his mouth.

"Who's house?" Tai questioned his best buddy while handing him a new marshmallow.

"My eighth grade science teacher's," the blonde replied simply, leaving no room for anymore questions.

The game continued on, going around the circle slowly. So far, Tai, Izumi, Autumn, Kari, Matt, and Jun had the most marshmallows in their mouth, followed shortly by Hirokazu and Itami. It was Kari's turn to say 'I never' and she knew just what to say.

"I've never had a crush on somebody of the same sex," she said almost gleefully, knowing who was going to eat their marshmallow. Itami placed hers inside her cheek next to the other ones with no shame, followed by Tai doing the same at a slower rate. Matt's eyes widened and Kari leaned back, waiting for the scene to play out.

"I thought you said you weren't gay…" the blond trailed off, his large blue eyes examining Tai's facial expression closely.

"And I told you the truth. I'm not," Tai shot back coolly, beginning to think of ways to harm Kari in her sleep.

"But yo-you just ate your marshmallow and…what the heck, Tai!"

"Uh, it's called being bisexual, dude. Chill out."

"Chill out? Tai how do you really expect me to chill out! Why didn't you just tell me that you were bi when I asked you this afternoon?" Matt ranted on. Tai's head snapped up and he bore his brown eyes straight into Matt's, causing a shiver to run up the pale boy's spine.

"You didn't ask me if I was bi. You asked if I was gay. Two different things, two different answers, deal with it," Tai said sharply and ended the discussion. All eyes were trained on the tan boy, watching to see if the time bomb within him would go off. Tai sighed and dropped his new marshmallow on the floor.

"Whatever, can we just play something else? I don't think I want to keep playing I Never," he informed the group sourly.

"Sure. Anybody up for strip poker?" Hirokazu suggested with a wink.

"Perv!" Mimi shouted and threw a pillow at the back of his head.

"Ow, hey!" The group laughed and the party resumed back to its light, airy atmosphere. Everybody started talking and laughing, drawing their attention away from Matt and Tai and onto the deck of cards Hirokazu held in his hand. Cobalt eyes flickered up to the form of his best friend who was sitting perfectly still, staring darkly off into space.

'_Way to go you freakin' idiot. You made him mad. But seriously, it's a little weird to suddenly find out your best friend is bisexual after living with him for the past three months. But still…it's Tai. It's not like it's something totally unexpected.'_ Matt sighed to himself and clutched the marshmallow in his hand, squeezing the life out of it easily.

'_Oh well…at least he can be truthful to everybody in the room.'_ The blond shrugged and looked around the room. He noticed that everybody was already absorbed into the game of poker taking place and watching how Mimi removed her necklace and Izumi lost her shoes. Without a second thought, Matt placed the marshmallow in his mouth, chewing on it carefully and quietly, thinking he had gotten away with the act unnoticed.

Too bad he didn't notice a pair of brown eyes staring straight at him. Brown eyes that had witnessed the event and brown eyes that were now lit up with inspiration.

* * *

"Hey, wanna get out of here?" Matt looked up at the sound of the voice. Hovering above him was Tai, looking less dangerous then he had earlier that evening. 

"Huh?"

"I said, wanna get out of here? I don't know about you, but I'm really not up for another game of Truth or Dare," the Japanese boy explained and gently poked his bellybutton.

"Sore?" Matt smirked and jumped to his feet, walking out of the room with Tai following him.

"Yeah, it wasn't a few days ago. I just hope it's not like, infected or anything. Mom would **slaughter** me." Tai winced when he brushed his fingers against a tender spot.

"Lemme see."

"What?" Tai blinked in surprise.

"Let me see it. I can tell if it's infected or not," the blond explained. Tai stopped walking in the middle of the hall and lifted his shirt slightly, albeit reluctantly. Matt crouched down so that he was eye-level with Tai's navel, prodding and examining the hole in his friend's body.

"It looks fine, just a little raw, which is totally normal. You're fine," Matt reassured the brunet and stood at his original height once more. Tai pulled his shirt back down and the pair stepped into the elevator. Not really caring, Matt pressed a random button and the lift began to descend. Tai continued to fiddle with the hem of his shirt and Matt drummed his fingers against the railing on the wall.

"How do you know about stuff like that?" Tai's quiet voice broke through the awkward silence. Blue eyes fixated on him while he continued being fascinated with his feet.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like, how do you know about piercing infections and stuff?" Matt gave off a half-shrug and the elevator dinged, announcing that the two boys had arrived at the lobby.

"One of the guys I used to hang out with owned a piercing parlor," the blond said half-heartedly at the two of them walked out of the area.

"I thought you said you didn't have any friends?" Tai blinked and followed his American comrade.

"Did I say friend? I said guy that I used to hang out with. There is a difference," Matt informed him. Tai nodded absently and they continued walking, vaguely registering that the noise level was slowly increasing as they kept moving.

"Are we friends?" the brunet suddenly pulled out of nowhere. Matt blinked at the question and rewarded Tai with a lopsided grin.

"Of course we're friends. Why?"

"Because of the way you reacted when you found out I was bi."

"Well shit, Tai! You just flippin' sprung it up on me! What did you really expect?"

"I don't know, maybe I thought you wouldn't think so much of it!" Tai fought back as they entered a large ballroom. It was crowded with executives in black suits and cocktail dresses. An orchestra was at the front of the room, playing melodic music as couples danced across the floor gracefully. Food lined the walls of the room and waiters ran around with trays of drinks on their hands.

"Of course I'm going to think so much of it!" Matt shouted again. The music and conversation was loud enough to cover their shouting as they weaved their way through the crowd.

"Are you like a damn homophobe or something?" the brunet questioned as he stopped walking, leaning against the wall behind him.

"No! For crying out loud, Tai, it was just so unexpected! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Matt cried out angrily, banging his fist back against the wall right by Tai's head. Tai opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by someone clearing their throat.

"I hate to interrupt, but you gentlemen seem like you could use a few drinks," a cool voice said from behind them. Matt turned his head and spotted a young man dressed in a tuxedo with a silver tray balancing on one hand, champagne glasses adorning it. His chin-length crimson hair was bright under the lights and his ice-colored eyes smirked at the two teens.

"Uh, no thanks," Tai said and began to push the man away. However, Matt had a different idea. Swiftly reaching behind him, he grabbed a glass of champagne from the tray and downed it in one go. Licking his lips, he grabbed another.

"Thank you, that will be all," the blond dismissed the waiter. Flipping his hair behind his ear, which was decorated with many earrings, the waiter nodded and winked.

"No problem," he replied and began to walk away. "Yamato," he said quietly and teasingly, only loud enough for said boy to hear. Eyebrows shooting up, Matt turned around to face the waiter, only to find he was gone.

'_Akira?'_ the young teen blinked and looked around, searching for a sign that it was indeed the driver that had just given him alcohol. Shrugging to himself, he began to sip his second drink and turned his attention back to Tai, who by this point was absolutely fuming.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You're too young to be drinking alcohol!" the mud-eyed boy exploded, waving his arms frantically.

"Relax, Tai. It's no big deal, it's just champagne. Champagne won't mess you up," Matt calmly explained as he finished off his second glass.

"That's what you think," Tai whispered under his breath. He cleared his throat and spoke a bit louder. "Anyway, back to the subject at hand!"

"Tai, can we not talk about it right now? It's New Year's Eve. Time to celebrate, not argue," Matt pointed out as he grabbed another glass of champagne from a tray passing by.

"No, I am not letting you intoxicate yourself. I think we need to discuss this whole thing while your head is clear," Tai said firmly and reached up to grab the wine glass. Matt swiftly dodged the Japanese boy and drank the bubbling liquid quickly, handing Tai the now empty glass.

"Honestly, Tai, you worry too much. Relax!" It was obvious that the bubbles were already going to Matt's head as his blue eyes darted around the room. Spotting another waiter, he bounced up to them and took a glass off of the platter in the server's hand.

"Do you even realize what you're doing?" Tai shouted at his friend as he came jogging up behind him. Matt shrugged and swallowed half of the glass.

"Easy there, killer. Your New Year's won't be much fun if you drink until you pass out," the waiter spoke from above them. Two pairs of eyes ascended until they reached the face of a teen with blue hair and an earring in his left ear. Matt blinked slowly and stared at the other blue-eyed male.

"Hey, I know you…" he said slowly as he continued to examine the bluenette.

"Don't you work at the restaurant?" Tai asked, keeping one worried eye on his best friend who was currently staring at Arial's earring in fascination.

"Yes, and because I work at the restaurant, I was placed here for the evening. What's going on with you two and aren't you a little young to be drinking?" Arial raised his eyebrow at the blond who merely giggled.

"The guy with bloody hair gave it to him," Tai explained agitatedly, glaring daggers at the man he was talking about, who was currently coming closer to them.

"Huh?" Arial looked up and spotted the other waiter charging at him at a rapid pace. Bracing himself for the attack, Arial had about three seconds before the red-head crashed into him head-long, sending both them and their trays of drinks flying into Tai and Matt.

"Ari!" the other boy chirped and rewarded the bluenette with a wet and sloppy kiss.

"Gross! 'Kira, don't do that!" Arial attempted to scowl but couldn't help chuckling as he sat up. Champagne dripped into Matt's eyes as he stared at the red-head nuzzling Arial's cheek.

"You!" he exclaimed, pointing an index finger at the driver.

"Hello!" Akira waved cheerfully. Arial looked back and forward between the two younger teens and Akira.

"Do you guys know each other?" Akira nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh! Yamato, the blond one, attends the academy I told you I work for on the side! I don't know who the other dude is though," the blue-eyed boy said suddenly and blinked at Tai.

"Tai goes to school too," Matt informed them, still amused by the fact that he and Tai were drenched in the sticky, bubbly liquid. Arial and Akira nodded in unison.

"Well, in that case, Yamato, meet my boyfriend Arial! I don't know how you know him already but you better keep your hands off!" Akira smiled cheekily and hugged Arial tightly.

"These two, along with three of the cheerleaders and another blond boy, came into the restaurant today," Arial explained, fighting off a blush that was forming from Akira's showering affection.

"Oh, okay!" Tai shook his head at Akira's carefree attitude and grinned slightly.

"Okay well, we better get going…this isn't even our party. Nice seeing you and meeting you and stuff and yeah, uh…bye," the brunet trailed off and waved, walking away with his arm linked with Matt's. The American boy didn't seem to be fazed by this and waved bye-bye to the two older waiters.

"Tai-Tai, I wanna go swimming. I'm all sticky," the blond whined and began to drag Tai in the opposite direction of the elevator.

"Whoa, uh, Matt? I don't think that's a good idea, man. You could like, drown?" Tai tried to rack his brain for some excuse not to let his friend go to the pool, but all he could think about was how the last part of Matt's sentence could be taken in two ways.

"Silly Tai! I won't drown, I swim better than you," Matt cooed and continued pulling his friend behind him as they turned down the hall to the pool room.

"Seriously dude, this is definitely not a good idea," Tai continued to say as the hallway got darker and darker. Sneaking a glance at his watch, he saw that it was just barely a quarter past nine in the evening.

'_What have I gotten myself into? He's seriously going to end up hurting himself or something.' _The brunet inwardly sighed and tried ripping his arm from Matt's vice-like grip.

"I think you're just scared," Matt said vaguely as he turned down another hallway with Tai still in tow. That got his attention.

"Scared of what?"

"Everything," the blond replied and the two boys walked into the pool room. The underwater light was bright beneath the clear surface and the moonlight shone through the windows surrounding the area. Not even bothering to strip his shirt, Matt jumped right into the pool, splashing his darker companion with water droplets. Shaking water from his hair, Tai scanned the bottom of the pool, seeing no signs of his friend.

"Great, we haven't even been here for two minutes and I've already lost him," the brunet said to himself as he continued searching.

"Hey Tai! Over here!" Matt shouted from the other end of the pool. Tai blinked in surprise. How the pale boy managed to get to the other side of the pool without him noticing was beyond him. But there Matt was, swimming around like a duck just as happy as could be.

"What are you doing over there?" Tai asked his friend and walked towards the other end, stepping in puddles along the way.

"I swam!" Matt announced proudly and ducked under the water, doing a back flip before popping back up.

"So I see," Tai replied and crouched down, balancing himself on the edge of the pool. Matt nodded again and smiled.

"Get in," he said, motioning for Tai to jump in next to him.

"Are you crazy? I'm dressed in my favorite jeans and a cool t-shirt and-ack!" Tai didn't get to finish his sentence as he was tugged forward and fell into the water headfirst. He heard the sound of Matt giggling somewhere off in the distance when he emerged from the water, growling at his slightly tipsy friend. Deciding that it didn't matter now that he was wet, he swam off in the direction he heard Matt's laughter.

"Oh Matt…come out, come out, wherever you are," he called out softly, slowly paddling towards the water cove they had discovered their first day there.

"Come and catch me," Matt's voice rang out in a sing-song tone, somewhere inside said water cove.

'_Great, just what I need; water-sex.'_ Tai shook his head and swam forward, following the path into the cave where he found Matt leaning against one of the rocks, admiring the view around him.

"You know what I've realized?" he said calmly, never taking his eyes off of the roof of the area.

"What?" Tai questioned as he moved over towards the other boy.

"After a few bubbles, I'm a lot more like you, and you're a lot more like me." Matt shook his hair out, causing it to poof out instead of stick straight up.

"I didn't even drink anything though," Tai pointed out. By this point, he was standing in front of his friend, staring into his eyes. The normally calm cobalt eyes were now dancing with excitement and darting around all over the place, mainly all over Tai's body. Matt licked his lips and smiled slightly.

"Exactly."

"Huh?" Tai quirked up an eyebrow, coming to the conclusion that his friend was making no sense. Obviously.

"You need to share the taste of champagne," the lighter boy explained, waving his hand vaguely in the air.

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Tai inquired, quite curious to hear what wacky idea Matt had come up with in his screwy state of mind.

"Kiss me."

"**What?"** Tai's eyes widened ten times their normal size. Whatever he had been thinking Matt was going to say, that most certainly wasn't it. That wasn't even **close** to what he had been thinking Matt would say.

"Kiss me," the blond repeated himself.

"Matt, I'm not going to kiss you! You don't know what you're talking about and I'm not going to take advantage of you and-"

"Blah, blah, blah. Tai, I don't care. Just kiss me before I change my mind," Matt demanded, pulling Tai closer to him by his necklace.

"Don't break it!" Tai yelped and pulled the other boy's fist off of his jewelry. Blue eyes blinked at the reaction and stared at the necklace.

"Sorry…" Matt trailed off, lowering his eyes back to the water. "I just thought…"

"No! Matt that's not it! I just…it wouldn't be right…you're not in your right mind." Tai moved closer to his comrade and leaned his forehead against Matt's, closing his eyes with a sigh. "Look, no matter how much I want to, I just can't. Not when you're so out of it and you don't know what you're saying."

"Tai, shut up! I know exactly what I'm saying okay? Just do it!" the American boy exclaimed, causing Tai's eyes to fly open. Staring into the depths of brown, he could see that Tai was fighting his own internal battle, struggling with the decision that was placed before him.

'_I don't know what to do. Like I told him, I really want to kiss him, but I don't know. It just feels so…wrong, knowing that he's totally screwed up from the bubbles.'_ Tai looked back into his friend's eyes, eyes that were filled with longing and amusement. A pale pink tongue darted out between dry lips, licking them slowly. Tai shook his head furiously and sighed again.

'_Well, I suppose that he's not going to remember any of this in the morning, so it couldn't hurt, right?'_ the brunet shrugged to himself and leaned forward, capturing the blond's lips with his own. Not at all surprised by Tai's decision, Matt reached up and put his hand behind the tanned neck, bringing his friend even closer to him as his eyes fluttered shut. Tai continued leading the kiss, using one hand to brush fingertips up and down Matt's spine while using the other to push the boy down on the rocks behind them. Matt gently bit on Tai's lower lip, although it must have been too hard for he managed to draw blood.

'_Okay, so maybe it could hurt. But it's so worth it.'_ Tai ran his tongue over his lip before tracing the outline of Matt's, begging for entrance into the unknown crevice of the other boy's mouth. Knowing very well what Tai was trying to do, Matt obliged wordlessly and parted his lips, acknowledging the warm and wet feeling as the tanned boy's tongue darted into his mouth. He felt his knees grow weak and leaned back against the rocks for support, feeling Tai's hand continue to tickle his spine, icy-cold fingers sending all kinds of sensations soaring through his body. Tai continued to deepen the kiss, examining every dark undiscovered area of Matt's mouth and causing the other boy to feel light-headed and dizzy. Regretfully, the submissive pushed the dominant away and rubbed his temples.

"Wow," he breathed out, shaking off the woozy feeling he was getting.

"You okay?" Tai tilted his head sideway, panting to catch his breath.

"Yeah, fine. Just kind of dizzy…must be from the champagne." Matt smiled weakly, pushing himself away from the rocks.

"Probably. Wanna head back up to our room?" Tai suggested, already leading his companion out of the water cove and into the regular pool area.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea actually," Matt agreed and followed the boy with the thick mass of hair. Guiding the slightly drunken one through the water, Tai pulled both of them out of the pool, soaked clothing and all. Not bothering to stop long enough to dry off, Tai and Matt crept down the hall and jumped into the elevator, pressing the button to ride up to their floor. They stood on opposite sides of the squared lift, occasionally sneaking glances at one another. The entire ride up was silent, each boy lost in his own thoughts. However, the thoughts were very similar and very unexpected.

'_Oh God, what have I done?'_

* * *

Tai reached into his wet back pocket and pulled out the room key, sliding it into the slot. The green light lit up and the door swung open, allowing the pair entrance. Matt walked in after Tai and shut the door behind him, immediately stripping his shirt off and tossing it into the bathtub. 

"Uh, what are you doing?" Tai questioned as he watched his friend remove his jeans as well.

"Well, I don't particularly like the feeling of being wet, so I'm changing into some dry clothes. Is that a problem?" Matt looked up from the drawer his clothing was in, a clean pair of boxers and wife-beater in hand.

"No, not really," Tai replied and walked over to his own drawer of clothing, pulling out an outfit similar to Matt's. The blue-eyed boy ducked into the bathroom to change, leaving Tai to just strip and change in the middle of the bedroom. He had just finished tugging on his shirt when Matt came out, toweling his hair dry. He started walking towards the bed but tripped over his own foot, sending himself flying onto the carpet below him.

"Matt! Are you okay?" Tai asked in alarm, rushing over to where his friend was sprawled out. The only response he got was another fit of giggles. Tai snorted on his own laughter and pulled Matt up by one skinny arm, dragging the other boy over to the bed and dropping him on it.

"You're easily amused aren't you?" he asked rhetorically as he stepped across the room to his bag, rummaging around inside of it.

"You bet!" Matt chirped and laughed again. Suddenly his face went somber and he stared at Tai's back. "Why do you hate clowns?" Tai froze in his movements and looked over his shoulder, blinking at the innocent bubbly boy bouncing on their bed.

"Excuse me?"

"Why do you hate clowns?" Matt repeated himself. Tai swallowed a lump in his throat and coughed.

"Um, well…" he began, trying to find a good excuse. If Matt knew the **real** reason why he was afraid of clowns, he wouldn't let him live it down.

'_On the other hand…'_ Tai ran through his thought process as he watched Matt pull feathers out of the pillow, blowing them up in the air and clapping his hands. Swooping down, he grabbed an old sketchpad from his canvas bag and shuffled back over to the bed, sitting on the covers next to the temporarily-wasted boy.

"You really want to know why I hate clowns?" he questioned the blond, holding the sketchbook firmly in his lap. Matt nodded enthusiastically and squinted at the book. Tai sighed quietly and opened the book, turning the pages slowly. "Promise not to laugh?" he asked as an afterthought.

"Why would I laugh?" Matt blinked at the question and watched with fascination as his friend passed over pages and pages of colors and lines. Tai didn't answer as he stopped on a page, handing the pad over to Matt wordlessly. Matt could feel his jaw drop as he stared at the strange drawing in front of his eyes.

Drawn out in black ink and colored with colored pencils was what was obviously a clown; however, this was an evil clown. Half of its face was black and the other was white, only to his nose and then the rest of his face was white. A red heart was drawn at the top of the white area, right near the skull. The clown had what seemed to be a flame for hair, sticking straight up like a volcanic eruption. Dressed in a long red overcoat with a white ruffled collar and puffy white wrists, green pants, and yellow boots that came up to his knees, the clown was in a fighting stance, holding onto four swords with his white-gloved hands. Two blue ribbons came up from behind his back, sort of like a pair wings and a demonic smirk adorned the mime-like face. Tai had drawn many little details on the clown's outfits, everything from the gray skulls on the shoulder of the jacket to the yellow buckles on the pant legs.

"Whoa…" Tai nodded and pointed at the clown.

"That's Piedmon," he said quietly. Matt looked away from the drawing and at his friend instead.

"Piedmon?" he mimicked the other boy. Tai nodded and leaned against the headboard.

"Yep. Remember when I told you that I heard a voice telling me to do stuff, before I found out I was schizo?" It was Matt's turn to nod and motioned for Tai to continue. "Well, it was Piedmon talking to me. I heard his voice and I just imagined what the face would look like. That's what I came up with. That's why I'm afraid of clowns. Because clowns cause me to do bad things." Matt was doing his best not to burst into giggles again.

"Tai, please don't be offended if I start to laugh, blame the alcohol. But really, you're afraid of clowns because of a **drawing?**"

Tai frowned at his friend's obvious amusement. "I knew it was a bad idea to tell you," he said harshly and ripped the book away from Matt's hand.

"Hey now, I wasn't done!" Matt protested and took the book back, flipping through the pages on his own. "Besides, that clown was pretty freaky. But still." He stopped on a page with a little orange dinosaur on it, staring at Matt with bright green eyes and a ball of fire shooting out from his mouth. "So what's that?" Tai looked over Matt's shoulder and a small smile came to his face, anger fading away from the Piedmon explanation.

"That's Agumon. I always wanted a pet, so I thought a dinosaur would be cool." Matt turned the page and revealed a white little kitten, only it wasn't a normal kitten. This kitten had large green gloves on her front paws and a purple-striped tail two times the size of her body, adorned with a golden tail ring and a purple tip, much like the purple tips on her ears.

"And that?" he asked and pointed at the kitten's bright blue eyes.

"That's Tailmon. That was when I wanted a cooler cat because I didn't like my sister's." Matt nodded and turned the page again. The only way to describe the next drawing was a blue Saint Bernard with a yellow horn on its forehead, a yellow stomach, and purple claws on its hands.

"And that?"

"That's Gabumon. I wanted a dog but I wanted a cool dog that shot out ice breath," Tai explained.

"Why do they all end with mon?"

"Mon is short for monster. And it sounds retarded to say Piedmonster, Agumonster, Tailmonster, Gabumonster, and anything monster. Mon just sounds cooler."

"You're right, it does," Matt agreed and continued looking through the book. He found a little pink bird named Biyomon, a red bug-like thing called Tentomon, a little orange and white pig with bat wings named Patamon, a white and purple seal with a reddish-orange mohawk called Gomamon, a plant-humanoid thing called Palmon, a light blue dinosaur thinner then Agumon named V-mon, a little hawk with a headband attached to it named Hawkmon, an armadillo (or at least what he thought was an armadillo) called, what else, Armadillomon, and last but not least, a little green caterpillar named Wormmon.

"You really do have an over-active imagination don't you?" Matt stated rather then asked as he closed the book on a pink cannonball with wings named Piximon.

"Yeah, I guess so. They may not be real to anybody else, but they seem real to me. I know that sounds weird but it's true." Tai shrugged and tossed the book back over by his bag. Matt nodded, only half-understanding what Tai meant.

"So like, can you hear all of their voices?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Most of the time. I've only heard Piximon speak once and I hear the others from time to time. But the ones I hear the most are Agumon and Tailmon. After those two, I hear Gabumon the most."

"That's so…I don't know, Tai. That's just kind of weird."

"Well, I'm crazy. I have an excuse, remember?"

"This is true." Matt glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. "Hey, it's 11. Want to head back over to our original party to ring in the New Year?"

"Let's go!" Tai bounced off of the bed, shortly followed by Matt who quickly sprinted for the door. Tai's eyes widened and he chased after the blond, calling out to him from the doorway.

"Yama?"

"What?"

"Put some pants on, you crazy drunk!" Matt looked down and noticed that indeed, he was only sporting his Scooby Doo boxers.

"Oops."

* * *

Fully dressed once more, the boy arrived back at the party room by 11:15 where a good game of Twister was going and one of Matt's blink182 CDs was playing. 

"There you guys are! We were wondering where you had gotten off to!" Mimi practically pounced on them, causing everyone around her on the game mat to fall over.

"Mimi!" Jun whined as she pushed Takato's elbow out of her face.

"Thanks a ton, Meems," Autumn grumbled as she and Hirokazu tried to untangle themselves.

"Sorry. But they came back!" the strawberry-blonde pointed at Tai and Matt who were still standing in the doorway. Kari looked up from the stereo and grinned.

"Hey guys, welcome back!" Tai returned the grin, feeling less like killing her now.

"What did we miss?" the brunet asked, leading his friend into the room after him and sitting on the floor in the circle the group had formed.

"Nothing, just an interesting game of TOD and Izumi losing at strip poker, badly I might add." Hirokazu smiled wickedly.

"Shut up, Kazu," Izumi shot back instantly and it was then that the two boys realized she was just sitting there in here lavender-colored bra. They each gave her a skeptical look before she started to explain.

"Somehow, I lost my shirt somewhere in the room and part of a dare I had was I couldn't have it back until the party was over."

"Oh. Makes sense," Matt replied and stretched out, leaning his back against Tai's shoulder.

"So, now that these two are back, who's up for a game of Spin the Bottle?" Kari waved the empty glass bottle around in the air. Several nods and verbal responses arose and Kari plopped herself down in the circle, setting the bottle in the middle.

"Okay, who's going to start?" the younger Yagami asked and looked around the circle.

"I will," Izumi volunteered and reached out, spinning the bottle around on the carpet. It soon stopped on Junpei, who was sitting across from her in the circle. Izumi blinked in surprise and Junpei stared back at her, giving her an awkward grin.

"Uh, Zu, you don't have to kiss me if you don't wanna, I understand," he began to say as Izumi crawled across the circle.

"No way, Junpei. That's how the game is played!" she remarked and placed a quick kiss on his lips, scooting back to her original spot. Junpei nodded mutely and spun the bottle, obviously still in shock that the blonde girl had gone through with it. The bottle landed on Autumn and after a quick kiss, the red head spun.

The game continued, some people kissing who they wanted to be kissed by (TK and Kari for example) and some kissing who they didn't want to be touched by at all (such as Mimi and Hirokazu). It was then Matt's turn to spin the bottle. The American boy stretched his arm and spun the glass lazily, watching it go around and around. It landed on Kari, who was sitting on Tai's right. Quickly glancing around to make sure she wasn't being watched, she "accidentally" kicked the bottle, forcing it to point at Tai.

"Well, look at that!" she said loudly, bringing all attention back to the bottle. Giving her brother a triumphant look, she glanced over at Matt and smiled.

"Pucker up, Matt!"

"Wait a second, are you sure Kari? They're both guys," Ai began to protest.

"So? Itami kissed me and we're both girls and I didn't really like it but I went with it. Besides, it doesn't mean they have to make-out, just a quick kiss," Alice pointed out. Kari nodded her agreement.

"Exactly, so hurry up boys!" Tai rolled his eyes at his sister's obvious enthusiasm and looked at Matt. The other boy shrugged and leaned in towards Tai, leaving the brunet to close the gap between them. It was quiet as they stayed like that, lips pressed against lips. Matt soon initiated an open-mouthed kiss, followed by Tai's eager cooperation and gasps and hushed whispers from their friends. Matt didn't seem to notice as he continued to go further, pressing himself further into Tai. It wasn't until Matt tried slipping some tongue that Tai pulled away.

"Wow, okay, I think that's enough," he said and gently pushed Matt away. The blond gave him a semi-hurt and confused look, puzzled as to why Tai pushed him away now when he had been so excited about it the first time down in the pool. Tai gave the boy a quick wink and looked at his watch.

"Hey, check it out, we have five minutes until midnight," he announced to the group.

"Cool!" Jun squealed and bounced off of the floor, ripping all of the noisemakers and confetti out of the closet. Passing them out to each person in the room, she pulled up the blinds to reveal the night sky.

"I heard Kyoto has a pretty fireworks display at midnight," Noriko commented as she tested out her noisemaker.

"Cool, I love fireworks!" Junpei grinned and trotted over to the window, leaning out to get a better view.

"Anybody have any resolutions for the New Year?" Alice questioned and sat on the bed next to Autumn.

"Ooh, I do! Mine is to get my parents to let me dye my hair pink!" Mimi bounced around the room, flinging little handfuls of confetti everywhere.

"Mine is to keep a good relationship with 'Keru," Kari said and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend who nodded.

"Same with me, only, keep a good relationship with Kari, not with myself."

"Well duh, TK," Tai laughed at the younger blond.

"Okay Tai, so what's your resolution?" Jun challenged the brunet.

"Easy! Land a hot boy for myself!" he announced with no shame, knowing very well that Matt knew Tai was referring to him.

"And Matt's?" Itami looked over to the older blond boy. Matt racked his brain for any resolutions, coming up with none.

"Well I-"

"Hey guys, countdown!" Shiuchon interrupted him and pointed at the clock. In unison, they began to count.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!" they all shouted and threw their confetti. Noisemakers went off and fireworks lit the sky. While everyone was distracted with the commotion outside, Tai stole another kiss from Matt.

"What was that for?" the American boy licked his lips, still tasting Tai on him.

"What? It's tradition to kiss somebody on midnight you know," Tai said with another grin and pulled Matt over to the window, throwing both of them into the celebration of the evening. Shortly after, Matt tugged on Tai's sleeve. The other boy looked over to him.

"What's up?"

"Tai, are things going to change?"

"Probably."

"But we'll be friends still, right?" The blond nervously bit his lip.

"Of course. Would I ever stop being your friend, Yama? Seriously."

"...no."

"Exactly."

"Do you promise?"

"What?"

"Do you promise we'll stay friends?" Tai stared at the pretty blue eyes, seeing that look of longing in them once more. That was all it took for him to know that Matt was serious. Leaning closer to him, he cupped Matt's face into his hand and kissed his ear, whispering into it softly.

"I promise." And that was all that it took for Matt to trust him.

* * *

After partying for most of the evening, the two boys had crawled into bed around 3am. The next morning, sunshine hit Tai's face brightly, alerting him that the day had started. With a slight groan, he rolled over and felt…empty space. His eyes shot wide open and looked beside him, finding the space Matt had occupied only hours earlier vacant. Sitting up in the bed, Tai looked around for any sign of his best friend. He quietly sneaked out of bed, tiptoeing over to the bathroom door. He was about to knock when he heard something from inside. Lowering his fist, he pressed an ear to the door and listened closely. From inside, he could hear quiet cries and a small voice whispering the same word over and over again. 

"Why? Why oh why oh why?" Tai swallowed his spit and stared at the door in horror, listening to his roommate continue to cry and repeat his mantra. Sinking to the floor, he continued to listen as Matt's sobs grew louder and the answer came to him in a flash, not even needing to ask to know he was right. It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

Matt woke up that morning and he remembered everything fromthe previousnight.

* * *

Again, it's edited. Woot-ness, right? This chapter was pretty fun to write too. I love editing these, so many memories. 

Thanks to: **DarkMetalAngel of Destruction**, Tsuki no Lomelinde, **SnakeMistress**, Octavo, **DawnAurilain**, Chibi Yamachi Neko, **Prozacfairy**, Kaiya5, **Dreamcrafter**, Kaizin , **Crushed Lily**, Black Mirror, **Melissa-T**, SelenaWheeler, **Rabid Tyson Foxflame fanboy (aka: Burning A.)**, Dreamer, **angel-demoness7**, Lugga, **nEo,** LuV2Writ3, **Sovereign of Silence3**, JohnneyAntonelli, **Mystery**, CrimsonAnjel, **Rika**, Mrpointyhorns, **hikkix2**, essenceofthedark, **Tammy**, Yagami Yamato, **missa1**, Prince Izzy X, and **YugiYamiforever**.


	11. Duel

Yes, this took a while to get out, but I did my best and I really hope you guys like this chapter. Warning though, you might not like a few things but they'll fix themselves over time…plot purposes my friends, purely plot. Review replies at the bottom.Enjoy!

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* * *

Ring, Ring._

Sora rolled over in her bed with a groan, darting her head under a pillow in attempt to drown out the sound.

_Ring, Ring._

She curled up into a ball, adding another pillow on top of the first.

'_Isn't anybody else going to answer the damn phone?'_

_Ring, Ring._

'_Guess not.'_ With a heavy sigh, Sora sat up and picked up her phone, rubbing her eyes tiredly. After all, a night of partying with your friends can make a person exhausted.

"What?" she spoke without even thinking, yawning as an aftereffect. She was rewarded with what appeared to be panting. Staring into the phone curiously, she tried speaking again.

"Hello?" More heavy breathing came through the line and the person on the other end began to speak.

"Sora, I majorly fucked up."

"Tai?" A single sniffle confirmed her theory. "Tai, what's going on?"

"I just shot down every chance I ever had of being with him!" Tai cried out angrily from his end, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"What happened?" Sora questioned as she laid down in her bed again, although she wasn't quite as sleepy as before.

"He found out I was bi and we started to fight about it, he was upset that I hadn't told him earlier, and he decided to drown himself in champagne to make him feel better. So he decided he wanted to go swimming and we were there and he was all, 'Kiss me,' and we know I wasn't going to do so when he was totally intoxicated but he said he wanted me to so I did. Oh god, Sora, we started making out in the pool! How could I have been so stupid! So we went back up to the hotel room and I showed him my drawings of the voices and he reacted okay and we went back over to the other room where the party was and we decided to play Spin the Bottle. Well Kari decided it would be a good idea to kick the bottle so Matt had to kiss me and then he tried to make out with **me** and I had to stop it because I knew that if I let him go on, neither of us would hold back, me because I want him so bad and him because he was drunk. And then the clock struck midnight and it's tradition to kiss somebody so I kissed Matt thinking he wouldn't remember any of this and we fell asleep in the same bed and oh god he remembers! Sora, he remembers everything and he locked himself in the bathroom crying! I'm such an idiot!" Tai choked out and started hyperventilating while Sora absorbed all of the information.

"Wow," she breathed out, not knowing what else to say.

"Sora, what am I going to do? He wants nothing to do with me! And after I kissed him…oh gosh…I can't…what am I going to do!"

"Tai, calm down!" Sora shouted over his hysterics. "Take a deep breath." She heard him inhale deeply and slowly exhale, his panic attack dying down. "Is he still locked in the bathroom?"

"Yes. Well, I think so anyway, I don't know. I'm not in the room anymore."

"Where are you?"

"Out in the hall," Tai replied with a sniff.

"What the hell are you doing out in the hall?" Sora questioned her companion, resisting the urge to arch an eyebrow.

"Didn't want Yama to hear me." Somehow, she was expecting that.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do about what?" Tai gasped in air as he began his wind-down.

"Matt. You're not really just gonna give up are you?"

"Well, yeah…I mean, he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Did he verbally tell you this?"

"…well no, not in **words**, but still!" Tai protested. Sora sighed and rubbed her temples. In her mind, it was way too early in the morning to deal with Taichi's traumas.

"Tai, pull your head out of your ass for five minutes and listen okay? Ever think that Matt doesn't hate you, that maybe he hates himself for doing what he did? Think about it. You may not be the only one guilty here," she explained to the other teen.

"I don't know, Sora. Somehow, I don't think so…"

"Whatever, just, don't give up all right? Trust me on this one. You can **not** give up already! Besides, it's not like he's verbally shot you down."

"Not yet anyway," Tai retorted sullenly. Sora growled in aggravation and took a deep breath.

"**Shut up Tai!"** she shouted with all of her might. Thankfully, her parents were heavy sleepers.

"Ow, what was that for?" Tai yelped as he winced at the sudden volume.

"You are being so negative right now and you and I both know that negativity is **not **Yagami's way. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and go do something about it! Have I made myself clear?" Sora grounded out harshly. Tai sat still momentarily, letting Sora's words sink into his clouded mind.

"I suppose so," he finally said for lack of any other answer.

"Good," Sora promptly replied and hung up the phone, rolling over to go back to sleep.

Tai stared at the phone in surprise, which quickly turned into annoyance.

"Gee, thanks a bunch, Sora," he grumbled and hung up too. With a sigh, he stood up on his feet and took another deep breath, Sora's words replaying in his head like some sort of satanic mantra. Despite how she had said it, the redhead was right. Negativity was not the Yagami way.

So why did he feel so down about the whole thing?

"Oh yeah, because my best friend officially knows I'd like to fuck him up the ass. That could be why! Argh!" he growled loudly and began pacing around the hallway, tugging on random strands of hair that fell in his face.

"It's not that I deny wanting to have him to myself and it's not like I think it's wrong because he's my best friend. So what if he's my best friend? Big whoop. A relationship might just make things better. Of course, it could make things worse but oh well. I'll deal with that if such a problem shows up. The main problem right now is figuring out what Matt wants to do about everything. Although I think him bawling his eyes out is a sign that he totally regrets it, meaning he wants nothing to do with a romantic me. Oh well, that's cool I guess…ugh, I don't know!" the brunet shouted, grabbing fists-full of hair and tugging hard.

"What don't you know?" a familiar voice questioned from behind him. Tai whirled around in his spot, coming eye-to-eye with his younger brother who was leaning against the wall behind him, watching his oldest sibling curiously.

"Daisuke! What are you doing here?" Tai countered back with another question, sweeping the boy into a bone-crushing hug. Daisuke squeaked and tapped Tai on the shoulder.

"Uh, Tai? Daisuke can't breathe," he wheezed out. Tai quickly released the younger boy and held him at arms-length, staring at him closely.

"What are you doing here?" he repeated his earlier question.

"They released me from the hospital this morning…what are you doing in the hall?" Daisuke also regarded his question from earlier.

"Yama's still sleeping and I wanted to call Sora," Tai lied quickly. There was no reason for Daisuke to know about what had happened yesterday. After all, his mind was still young and impressionable.

"That's funny…because Yama's standing right behind you," Daisuke replied and pointed a few feet down the hall. Standing in the open doorway of their room was Matt, looking rather pale and rumpled, almost like he hadn't had a good night's rest. Regarding Daisuke with a silent nod and completely ignoring Tai, the blonde padded down the hallway towards the room Kari, TK, and Ami were staying in. A small groan escape Tai's lips and he sighed louder. Daisuke looked between his brother and his brother's best friend, confusion and concern etched into his boyish features.

"Did I miss something?" he asked cautiously, unsure of his position in the matter. Tai shook his head and turned towards his room.

"No. Nothing at all," he said and began to walk away, motioning for Daisuke to follow. "Wanna go hit up the continental breakfast?" he offered for the sake of changing the subject. Daisuke's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly. Tai smirked to himself and walked into the room to change his pants. If anything outweighed Daisuke's curiosity, it was definitely his appetite. Re-emerging from the area dressed in a pair of jeans, Tai led his brother to the elevator and the two rode down to dine.

Meanwhile, Matt continued his trek to the room that contained his younger brother and his brother's girlfriend. He didn't care if they were awake or not, he just needed an excuse to get away from Tai. Now. He knew Ami wouldn't be in the room since Daisuke was back and while the idea of leaving the young couple alone scared him before, at the present moment, he didn't give a damn.

He stood in front of their door, hand poised to knock for permission to enter, when he noticed that it was partially open. He heard voices from inside the room and took a step forward, only to stop when Kari shouted his brother's name. Making sure to remain hidden and quiet, Matt opened the door a tiny bit more then it was, peering into the room and spotting the younger teens standing in the middle of the room.

"So you hate my brother," Kari accused the teen in front of her, staring heatedly into his bright blue eyes.

"No, I'm not saying I hate him. I'm just saying I don't agree with his choice of lifestyle," the blonde argued, readjusting his white bucket hat that had slipped over his eyes.

"Why not?"

"Think about it, Kari. People can't reproduce with members of the same sex and right now your brother only has an interest in screwing **my** brother up the ass! Last time I looked, that was neither normal nor acceptable!" Matt winced at the tone in his brother's voice. He knew that this conversation would come up sometime, but he was hoping it would be very far into the future.

"Screw being acceptable, that's just how he is! It's not like he's doing anything wrong!" Kari shouted, not wanting to believe that her boyfriend could be so closed-minded about the whole situation.

"It **is** wrong though, Kari. Do you not see that?" TK insisted. Kari shook her head at the blonde boy.

"No I do not see that, **Takeru**," Kari said, making a large emphasis on using TK's real name. "Tai's my brother and despite him being in the minority, he still has my utmost respect and support! I don't care if you hate how he is, but just remember this. He has a higher ranking in my life then you do. No matter how much I love and care about you, I care about Taichi more. End of discussion!" Kari declared with an air of finality, turning on her heel and flouncing to the door.

"Fine! I don't care, Kari, I really don't! I'm still going to think what he's doing is not right!" TK hollered at her back. The girl didn't turn her head, instead flipping her partner off and storming out the door, not noticing that Matt was right there. He took that as his cue to enter the room.

"Are you **pouting?**" Matt blinked in surprise. TK looked up from his spot on the couch and shook his head.

"No. What gave you that idea?"

"Because that definitely looked like a pout," the older blonde pointed out and sat down next to his brother.

"Yeah well, she's trying to make me feel guilty," TK explained with a shrug. "But I'm not changing my mind."

"About what?" Matt asked, just to make it look like he **hadn't** been standing at the door eavesdropping.

"About believing that any form of homosexuality is wrong. That includes bisexuality."

"And she got mad because Tai's bi," Matt filled in the blanks.

"Exactly," TK sighed. "I don't get why she's so upset. Those are my beliefs."

"It's because you offended her, bonehead. Wouldn't you be offended if somebody said that something **I **was doing was wrong?" Matt attempted to put things into perspective for his younger sibling.

"They already are saying you're doing something wrong," TK muttered darkly. Matt blinked momentarily and cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Kari and Mimi and even Jun are convinced that you like Tai," he informed the older male.

'_No…this can't be a good thing.'_ Matt shook his head in attempt to think of a way out of his predicament.

"Well yeah I like Tai, he's my best friend," he said, knowing that his statement wasn't going to convince TK of anything.

"That's not what I meant. They think you like him like he likes you," TK replied, confirming what Matt already knew and feared. He racked his brain for a reply quickly and could only come up with one.

"No I don't." Well, it was a start.

"I didn't think you did! I mean c'mon, you're both guys. That's just…no. It doesn't fly. I know girls like the whole yaoi thing but seriously, this isn't some shounen-ai anime. This is reality. Reality was not made for fags," TK spat out.

"Whoa, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Matt's eyes widened in surprise at how disgusted TK truly was.

"No, I don't. You almost sound like you accept the fact that Tai wants to date you." TK narrowed his eyes and stared at his brother closely, almost as if he were trying to read his soul.

"I'm not happy about it, but he's still my friend. I'm not exactly going to turn my back on him just because his door swings both ways," Matt tried to explain.

"Whatever man, it's your funeral," TK shot back and stood to his feet, heading towards the door. "But if I were you, I'd be worried about my reputation," he said his final words and walked out of the room, leaving Matt with that last thought.

'_Holy shit he's right…' _Matt's jaw dropped a bit at this realization. _'I'm just now starting to have a life. If word about me and Tai gets out…I'm damned. I am officially damned.' _The American shook his head wildly and bit his lip. Despite how wrong it was, he knew he had to put a stop to it somehow.

'_I just hope Tai won't hate me too much.'_ Was the last reigning thought as he too rose to his feet and left the room, going back to his own area to pack his belongings.

It was only the first day into the new year and it was already beginning to look shitty.

* * *

Tension was in the air on the train back to Odaiba. Anyone could tell. Ever since the group of six had left the hotel that morning, silence was golden. Kari was refusing to speak to TK, choosing to sit by her mother for the journey home. This left the younger blonde to be stuck by his older brother, who was doing all that he could to avoid Tai for reasons known only to him. Tai respected the fact that Matt didn't want to talk to him. That didn't mean he had to like it. Oh no, Tai was definitely pissed off. 

'_Just because a few things happened last night doesn't mean he has to totally avoid me like the plague! For crying out loud, I have a crush on him, not a death sentence!'_ he shifted in his seat grudgingly, looking over to where his younger brother was napping next to him. Even though he had been released from the hospital, he still needed his rest. Tai smiled down at the smaller figure and reached over, slipping the pair of headphones off of his brother's ears and onto his own. His eyes widened and he yelped, ripping the headphones away from his ears.

"Daisuke, what the hell is this!" he exclaimed, fully succeeding in awakening the other boy.

"What's what?" Daisuke yawned and blinked sleepily, giving his brother a look that clearly said he wasn't pleased with the rude awakening.

"This! What are you listening to?" Tai questioned and held up the portable CD player.

"Oh…Avril Lavigne." Tai could feel his eye twitching at the name.

"Why are you listening to Avril Lavigne?" he asked as calmly as he could without bursting into a sporadic fit.

"Because Mimi likes her, so I thought I'd borrow the CD and see what she sounded like. She's not as bad as you make her out to be, Tai," Daisuke informed the older brunet and took back his CD player. "Just listen to one song and then you can trash-talk her," he compromised.

"Promise?" Tai muttered and leaned back in his seat. Daisuke nodded and let the rest of track three fade away.

"Promise…besides, I think you can relate to this next song," he replied and also leaned back, letting the song do all the explaining for him. Tai rolled his eyes at the cheap guitar riffs and cringed as Avril's voice blared through the headphones.

'_I can't believe Daisuke would think I would relate to _**this!**_ I mean, I don't sit on my bed and stare at the phone. That's possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.'_ Tai scoffed and shifted in his seat. Suddenly the chorus rang through and he listened. As he listened, the words sank in and he blinked.

'_Okay…so maybe this does fit. But only a little bit. Yeah…but it's all in the past now, so it doesn't matter. But it _**fits!**_ Jeeze, leave it to Daisuke…let's just bring up old memories.'_ He shook his head and sighed, listening to the next verse.

'_All right…who cleans their room when they're bored? I don't usually clean my room when I'm told to anyway! And part of you is getting stale…who writes these lyrics? Stupid blonde singer…'_ Tai snickered. It was obvious that Avril just was making things up as she went, but because she was already famous, it sold. The song continued on with a few random parts thrown in about having choices and voices…or something.

'_I admit, for being annoying, this song's kinda catchy…and Daisuke's right, the chorus does fit.'_ Tai decided and began mouthing the words to said chorus, unaware that Daisuke was watching with a smile on his face.

"He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no he wouldn't even open up the door. He never made me feel like I was special, he isn't really what I'm lookin' for…like I was special, cause I was special, uh huh," the brunet sang quietly and let the rest of the song finish with a loud final guitar note. He pulled the headphones off of his ears and handed them back to his brother.

"See, she isn't so bad, is she?"

"Oh no, I still hate her," Tai retorted. After all, he wasn't going to let on that he liked that song, nor was he going to admit that it did relate.

'_Stupid Haru…he really wasn't what I was looking for.'_ He reached into his bag and pulled out his own CD player, sticking in his ear pieces and giving his brother one final look.

"And now that you have poisoned my mind, I must listen to Papa Roach at maximum volume before I lose **all** of my sanity," he confirmed and nodded, turning on his player and turning up the volume, allowing the loud music to comfort him from the brush with cheery poppy-ness.

"Uh-huh, sure Tai, whatever you say." Daisuke smirked at the other boy and slipped his own headphones back on. He wasn't going to bruise his brother's pride…not right now anyway.

Tai rolled his shoulders and let his music play, not really hearing it in his head. Instead, random thoughts entered and he closed his eyes, not even giving Daisuke and his cruddy music choices a second thought before he fell asleep.

* * *

"_Haru, why are you ignoring me? What did I do?" Tai questioned the black and silver-haired teen in front of him. Haru didn't respond and continued to correct the homework sheets in front of him._

"_Haru! C'mon, seriously, quit joking around," Tai said around a nervous laugh. He still received no response from the other boy. Swallowing his pride, he bent down so he was eye-level with Haru and let his puppy-dog expression take over._

"_Haru, please talk to me?" he begged quietly. Haru snapped his head up suddenly, glaring at Tai with agitated aqua eyes. Tai blinked in surprise at the look._

"_Are you mad at me?" he asked. _

"_No shit, Sherlock. I thought you could have figured that out on your own," Haru grounded out smoothly before returning to grading the paperwork. Tai remained silent for a few moments before choosing to speak again._

"_Why?" _

"_What do you think?" _

"…_because I kissed you a few days ago?" _

"_Exactly. You know I'm trying to get with Stormie from back home," Haru spat out. Tai bit his lip and looked at his feet._

"_Well…I thought you wouldn't mind. It's just, you and I haven't done anything for a while," he said softly, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves from their classmates._

"_Uh, hello? What part of friends with benefits didn't you understand? _**We**_ are _**not **_dating, Tai! I know that's what you thought but we're not! Get over it!" Haru looked up once more, shooting Tai a look that finalized his words._

"_But you said you loved me…" Tai trailed off, feeling smaller and smaller by the minute._

"_You actually thought that meant something? Get a grip. I just needed somebody to fool around with and you were the closest person," Haru explained. Tai felt tears spring into his eyes and closed them, swallowing hard._

"_I can't believe you, what kind of shit are you trying to pull?" he attempted to keep his voice level._

"_Well, I don't have to pull it now, do I? I have Stormie…I don't need you anymore," the boy with two-toned hair confirmed Tai's greatest fear. _

"_But-" _

"_No, Tai. No. Get the hell away from me." _

"…_so it's really over." _

"_There never was anything. But sure, why not, just to humor you, yeah it's over. That's it, game over, you lose," Haru rephrased himself in many ways but it all added up to one thing. He looked back down at his papers and went back to marking them, leaving Tai to stand above him with tears flowing down his face. Turning on his heel, he ran out of the classroom and up the stairs, unlocking the door to his bedroom and flinging himself inside, sobbing heartbrokenly into his pillow._

"_Tai…Tai, c'mon…" _

"Tai, wake up," Kari's voice said softly as her hands shook his shoulders. Tai's eyes flew open and he blinked several times before his sister's face came into vision. He lifted a hand to his face on impulse and felt that his cheeks were wet.

"Are you okay?" the younger girl asked quietly, knowing that her brother hated to be vulnerable. Tai reached up with both hands this time and rubbed his face, succeeding in waking himself up and wiping away his tears.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied automatically. Kari rewarded him with a skeptical look and shook her head.

"No, wrong answer. What's really wrong, Tai?" she inquired, sitting back in what used to be Daisuke's seat.

"Where'd Dai go?" Tai countered back with another question.

"He's up with Mom because he came to get me because you were crying in your sleep," Kari replied. "And don't change the subject."

"I was not crying! My…eyes were…dry?" he stopped short upon seeing the look on Kari's face that clearly stated, 'Don't give me that bullshit.'

"You know, it would just be easier if you told me what was wrong instead of arguing with me to the point that I have to beat it out of you," she pointed out. Tai sighed and shifted in his seat so that he was facing Kari instead of the seat in front of him.

"I just had a dream about Haru, Kar…nothing else," he spoke in a low voice so that no one else could hear him. Kari's expression softened and she pulled him closer for a hug.

"Oh…poor thing…I can't believe you're still thinking about him after all this time!" she exclaimed as she held his head to her shoulder. Tai struggled to push himself away enough to talk to her.

"It hasn't been that long Kari, it's only been like, six or seven months. But I'm surprised too because I haven't dreamed about him for months," he said and sighed. "It's hard to let go I guess."

"How can you still hold on when he was such a jerk to you?"

"Well…he wasn't always a jerk you know." Kari gave him a flat look.

"Okay well, let's go with exhibit A!" she announced and lifted up his left arm, pulling down the black wristband to reveal a pale thin scar.

"Will you quit that?" Tai hissed and rolled the band back down.

"Just proving my theory." Kari frowned at her brother.

"Well I was trying to forget about that! Besides, I only did it once and that was like, right after he told me to piss off. So basically, you have proved nothing," Tai retorted and stuck out his tongue.

"Okay well, let's move on to exhibit B!" Kari reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a battered red spiral notebook. Tai stopped moving and stared at her.

"Where did you get that?" Kari smirked and twirled the book around in her hands.

"Be glad I found it instead of Mom. Just a little hint, under your bed is not the best hiding spot," she remarked and opened the book, selecting a passage. "Ah, here we go. This is from April. 'Haru keeps avoiding me and I can't figure out why. I haven't done anything to him. We were making out three days ago but he hasn't spoken to me since then. He's always on the phone with Nanako whenever I try to visit him and when I approach him in class, he walks away pretending like he doesn't see me. It kills me tha-"

"All right, all right, shut up!" Tai whispered frantically and snatched the journal away from his sister. "I am going to burn this fucker."

"That'd be wise," Kari agreed. "I wish you would just agree that he was a real jerkweed."

"Well, okay so maybe he was in the end. But when I first met him he wasn't," Tai argued back.

"Yeah but people change, you should know that."

"I know…I guess I'm clinging to the person he used to be, not who he is now. Or rather, was, since I haven't heard from him since."

"That's probably a good thing, don't you think?" Kari asked rhetorically, twirling a lock of hair around her index finger.

"I guess. It hurts either way...like, a slap in the face for doing something wrong," Tai said thoughtfully, slipping off his headphones once he realized his music had stopped some time ago.

"Tai, you didn't do anything wrong," Kari said sharply.

"No, I know that **now**, but at the time y'know? I thought there was something wrong with me…like I wasn't good enough and that's why he chose those girls over me," Tai clarified hastily before he got another "up-lifting" self-esteem lecture from Kari. "But I suppose it doesn't matter now. I'm back to square one."

"What about…?" Kari motioned towards the older blonde that was a few seats in front of them and sleeping on TK's shoulder.

"I don't know…I have a feeling I'm just in for more problems." Tai shrugged.

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, Kari. Why would Matt be sitting over there instead of sitting next to me if we didn't have issues, hmm?" he rationalized for the brunette girl.

"Okay, I get it," Kari said and rolled her eyes. Seeing the rather dejected look on her older brother's face, she rubbed his shoulders lightly and gave him an encouraging smile. "It'll all work out, Tai, you'll see."

"Yeah, I know…thanks, Hikari," Tai replied with his own smile.

'_No need to tell me, I already know it'll work out. Now it's just the case of if it'll work out the way I want it to.' _Tai pouted slightly but quickly erased it when Kari looked his way.

"C'mon kids, this is our stop," Ami hollered as she and Daisuke exited the train, followed by the blonde brothers. Kari grabbed her bag from the floor and stood up, waiting for Tai to stand as well.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked him, searching his eyes for some reassurance. A smile plastered itself onto Tai's face and he nodded.

"Of course, Hika. Talking about it helped actually," he replied and stood up with his bag.

"Glad to hear it." Kari nodded and smiled back. The two siblings pushed all negative thoughts out of their minds for the moment and rushed out of the train, meeting the rest of their party on the other side.

* * *

Matt was going insane; he was sure of it. Not like he wasn't already, being friends with Tai, but that was beside the point. Everywhere he walked inside the Yagami-Motomiya household, he felt like he was being watched. In the kitchen, down the hallway, by the den, through the living room, even in the shower, he felt as though he were being watched. This is why he had grabbed a pack of ramen from the cupboard in the kitchen, a can of Coke from the refrigerator and holed himself up in the guestroom, determined not to come out until the next morning when the three boys would travel back to Odaiba Academy. It was somewhere around six in the evening when someone came to disturb his Realm of Paranoia. 

"Matt, are you in there?" Kari's voice rang through the door suddenly, causing the blonde to choke on the dry noodles.

"Uh, yeah, hang on," he replied and rose from his position on the floor, swiftly walking across the room and opening the door a tiny bit. "What can I help you with?" he asked as he peered through the crack.

"Can I come in?" Kari didn't bother to wait for a reply before she made her way into the room, leaving Matt to look highly offended.

"Jeeze! What if I had been naked or something?" he exclaimed and frowned, closing the door behind her.

"Then we would be even," she responded calmly and sat on the bed, reminding Matt about the same situation that had occurred the day after Christmas.

"Right…I apologized for that, didn't I?"

"Yes you did."

"Okay good." Matt nodded to himself and watched as Kari played with her hairclip in silence. He was about to open his mouth to ask what the heck she wanted when she spoke for herself.

"I don't know what's going on between you and my brother, but I want you to fix it. Now." The female Yagami bore her eyes into Matt's, not liking how he wasn't really listening to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kari. Nothing's going on between me and Tai," Matt denied instantly, knowing that Kari wasn't going down without a fight.

"That's crap, Matt, and we both know it. I'm not asking you to tell me what happened, but I want you to fix it because it's ridiculous." Kari played with her fingers in her lap, looking around the room as though Tai were hiding somewhere.

"Fine, I'll fix it. Is that all?"

"Mom said to make sure you have all of your stuff. A taxi's coming bright and early tomorrow to pick you guys up to take you back to the academy." Kari pushed herself off of the bed and walked across the room gracefully.

"All right, I'll start packing right now," Matt said and grabbed his suitcase from off of the floor.

"Good." Kari nodded and opened the door.

"Hey, where's TK at?" the blonde boy asked before she stepped out of the room.

"He went home," Kari answered shortly and walked away, closing the door sharply behind her. Obviously, she was still ticked off at the other blonde and wasn't open for discussion.

"Well then," Matt said to himself and sighed, tossing his suitcase onto the bed and unzipping it. He moved over to the dresser, sliding out the top drawer and removing his underwear and socks. He shoved them at the bottom of the suitcase and moved onto the next drawer that contained his pants. "Just because I said I was going to fix things with Tai doesn't mean I have to do it right away. She never said it had to be done right away. Oh wait…yeah she did. Damn," he continued talking to himself as he emptied all of the drawers, making his way over to the closet. A knock on the door echoed through the room.

"It's open," Matt hollered without a second thought, too focused on fighting with the hangers in the closet.

"Hey." Oh, how he wished he had given it a second thought. Matt felt every muscle in his body tense up at the sound of Tai's voice.

'_Well, I was bound to run into him sooner or later. After all, it's his house.'_ He straightened up and turned, giving Tai the sight of half of his face.

"Hey, Tai," Matt returned the greeting and continued packing. Tai leaned against the wall by the door and followed his friend with his eyes.

"I see you haven't finished packing," the brunet commented lightly.

"And I suppose you have?"

"…what would I need to pack? I **live** here, remember? I only brought a small bag home," Tai reminded his friend with a lopsided grin.

"That's true," Matt agreed before closing the closet and walking over to the bed. Tai shifted onto his other foot uncomfortably and swallowed.

"Are we okay?" he blurted out before he backed down. Matt looked up again with an odd, unreadable look on his features.

"What do you mean are we okay?" the Japanese boy rubbed the back of his neck and licked his dry lips.

"I mean, are we okay. Because like, we haven't really talked all day and you've been kinda avoiding me it seems," he explained to the American boy.

"I have not been avoiding you," Matt immediately denied, suddenly feeling nervous under Tai's intense stare.

"Really? Because it sure seems like it," Tai huffed and blew pieces of hair out of his face, never letting his eyes leave Matt's.

"Tai, if I was avoiding you, I wouldn't be talking to you at all. I'm just tired and wanted to catch up on my sleep. I can't easily do that with you yakking my ear off, now can I?" Matt fed the brunet a quick lie to tide him over. Tai seemed to consider this for a moment, tilting his head to the side as though having a new view of Matt would tell him the truth.

"Matt look…I don't know what you're issue is, but I don't like it when you lie about it. I'll stop bugging you about it right now, but I wish you would just tell me what's wrong," Tai said in a sad tone, flashing Matt a pair of puppy-dog eyes before he turned around and disappeared through the door just as quickly as he came in. Matt let out a relieved sigh, sitting down on the bed heavily. No offense to Tai of course, but he really didn't want to deal with the brunet right now.

Maybe not ever.

He had yet to figure out what to do about his current dilemma and he only had a few more hours to figure it out before they returned to the academy. It wasn't going back to the academy that bothered it; more like going back to rooming with Tai full-time bothered him. And it wasn't the fact that Tai was bi that bothered him; it was the fact that he was attracted to **him** that bothered him.

"After all, I never signed up to be somebody's crush," he muttered to himself and closed his eyes, allowing his body to relax against the bouncy mattress. It wasn't his fault Tai decided to kiss him and make everything all awkward. He had just sat there and let it happen.

'_Except for last night when you commanded he kiss you,'_ A little voice spoke to him.

'_It was the champagne I tell you!' _Another voice argued back. Oh how lovely, Rational and Irrational were back. Matt stayed quiet and let the two sides of his mind battle it out.

'_Of course, blame it on the champagne. But just remember, you can't use the champagne as an excuse to why he enjoyed kissing him,'_ Irrational taunted.

'_Sure I can. Alcohol affects the brain a lot,'_ Rational argued back.

'_Yeah, too bad it was his psyche that determined whether you enjoyed it or not,'_ Irrational pointed out. _'Besides, there's not that much alcohol in champagne anyway.'_

'_Yeah but…um…'_

'_Face it, you lose. Matt enjoyed the kiss, end of story.'_ Irrational declared victoriously.

"However, just because I liked the kiss doesn't mean I like Tai, so you both can just cram it," Matt said aloud. It was the only way he could successfully shut up both sides. "I mean I could kiss Britney Spears and like it, but that doesn't mean I'd like her. It's the same concept," he explained to both sides of his brain. He stopped and blinked, suddenly realizing what he was doing. "No wonder Dad thinks I'm crazy," he mumbled through a yawn and fluffed up his pillow. All of the thinking, arguing, and avoiding Tai had drained him of his energy for the day. Actually, just Tai in general had drained his energy for the day.

"Then again, what else is new?" Matt sighed one last time before his body shut down and went to sleep.

* * *

"Matt, get up. The taxi's gonna be here in 20 minutes," Tai hollered from across the hall. The blonde groaned and rolled out of bed, landing on the carpet with a soft thud. He remained motionless for a few moments before the sounds of someone shouting reached his ears. 

"Daisuke, you don't have time to take a shower!"

"Do too!" The American boy got up from his place on the floor and crept out into the hallway. He spotted Tai standing outside of the bathroom door with his toothbrush in hand while Daisuke stood just inside the doorway wrapped up in a towel and dripping wet.

"No you don't! We have like, now less then 20 minutes to get ready to go," Tai said to his brother and bopped him on the nose with the blue toothbrush.

"You know what, Tai? I haven't showered in five days and I'm pretty sure I smell by now," Daisuke argued back, placing his hands on his hips.

"So put on some cologne and shower when we get to the academy!" the older brunet slammed his hand against the wall by Daisuke's head.

"Hey, y'know, some of us are trying to sleep in!" Kari interrupted her brothers' banter and stood in the doorway of her bedroom wearing a baby-pink tank top, black pajama bottoms, and a rather pissed-off expression. "Just because **you** guys have to go back to school today doesn't mean you have to make my life miserable too," she pointed out.

"When do you go back?" Matt asked the teenage girl.

"The seventh. And speaking of the number seven, do you guys realize it's 7:17 in the morning?" Kari held up her watch to emphasize her point

"We've been arguing for seven minutes?" Tai questioned rhetorically.

"Apparently," Kari answered anyway. "And you have thirteen to finish getting ready before you guys have to leave. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed."

"What? No goodbye hugs or anything?" Daisuke pouted.

"Not when you're wet. Dry off, brush your teeth, and get dressed. **Then** I'll say goodbye to you three," she decided and brushed past all of them, heading down the stairs to find her mother. Tai was the first to come to his senses.

"She's right. Daisuke, go dry off. I'll go use the bathroom downstairs, or better yet I'll just use Mom's. Matt, go get dressed," he ordered the other two boys and disappeared into his mother's bedroom. Daisuke rolled his eyes and closed the bathroom door again, presumably to finish getting ready.

'_And so begins day two of my personal hell.'_ Matt inwardly sighed and walked back into the guest bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him. Rifling through his bag he pulled out the first set of clothing on top. His Volcom hoodie and jeans, nothing special. Slipping them on, he stomped his feet into his sneakers and picked up his bag, looking around the room once more to make sure he had everything. With a satisfied nod, Matt exited the room and clambered down the stairs, Tai and Daisuke right behind him.

"Okay boys, have a safe trip," Ami said as she and Kari stood in the front hall. Tai nodded and gave his mother a hug.

"We will, see ya in about five months," he replied and turned to his sister.

"I'm bummed I don't get to be here for your first day of high school!" he pouted and hugged her tightly. Kari hugged him back lightly and rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, the only reason you would want to be here is so that you could humiliate me in front of my friends," she joked.

"…maybe, but it's only because I love you."

"Rude." Ami shook her head at her two children and pulled Daisuke closer to her.

"Are you feeling better this morning, honey?" she asked and felt for a fever.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom," Daisuke insisted, feeling rather embarrassed about being fussed over.

"All right, you take care of yourself," Ami said and planted a kiss on his forehead. "And make sure your brother doesn't get into too much trouble," she whispered quietly.

"Hey!" The other four people in the hall laughed at Tai's offensive look. "You people are mean," the oldest Yagami sibling informed his family and best friend.

"It's just because it's true, Tai," Daisuke explained and moved over to Kari, hugging her quickly before releasing her. "See ya when we get home, Hika."

"Yeah, can't wait," she answered with a smile. Ami nodded and finally enveloped Matt into a hug.

"It was wonderful having you here with us, Matt. I hope you'll come back another time." Matt returned the hug and smiled at her.

"It was great meeting you, Ami and thanks for letting me stay here. Hopefully, I'll come back sometime," the blonde replied, although not too sure about the last statement he made.

"Well we would love to have you back." Ami smiled back and released him. He turned to Kari and nodded at her.

"Nice meeting you too, Kari," he said uneasily, remembering that she was currently pissed off at his brother and frustrated with him.

"Likewise. Hope you take care of everything when you get to the school." She gave him a pointed look that informed him of her implications.

'_In other words, I had better work things out before coming back onto Yagami-Motomiya property. Right.' _Matt gave her a nervous grin and turned for the door. Kari waved and headed back up the stairs, most likely to go back to bed. After all, it was only 7:29 in the morning.

"Right. Well, we'll see you when we come home," Tai said and reached over, swinging the front door open.

And there stood TK, hand positioned over the doorbell and looking quite surprised.

"Um…morning guys," he greeted the three boys and Ami.

"What are you doing here, Teeks?" Matt asked his younger brother. TK rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and grinned.

"Well, I wanted to talk to Kari."

"So you came to our house at 7:30 in the morning," Tai stated rather then asked.

"I wanted to catch her before she went out for the day or something," the younger blonde explained.

"Well, she just went upstairs to go back to bed. You're more then welcome to stay and wait for her though, she has to be up by nine anyway," Ami offered and gestured towards the den. Obviously, she wasn't aware that her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend had a fight yesterday and that Kari didn't really want to see TK.

"Okay, sure. Hey, are you guys leaving right now?" TK switched gears as he noticed the bags in their hands.

"Yup. You better take care of my sister until I get back," Tai warned him. TK let out a nervous laugh and nodded.

"I will, trust me."

"What Tai's **trying** to say is, nice to meet you TK, and we'll probably see you around when we come home for summer," Daisuke translated for his brother, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Ow, Dai!"

"Idiot." Matt rolled his eyes and snickered. He turned to TK and smiled softly as the two Yagami-Motomiya brothers walked out of the house.

"C'mere bro," he said and set his bag on the ground. TK walked closer and found himself wrapped into a very tight hug. "It's crazy that we met up after all these years huh?" Matt laughed at the idea.

"Yeah, I know. Who woulda thought that we'd really be long-lost brothers?" TK agreed and laughed as well.

"Oh well, I guess it's not so bad being related to you. Maybe one day you'll be as cool as me." Matt smirked down at his little brother.

"Hey! I'm **very **cool, thank you very much."

"Uh-huh, and I'm very gay," Matt snorted and then froze.

'_Where the hell did that come from?'_ The American boy shook his head and focused in on what TK was saying.

"Ugh, all right, I get it," TK groaned. He let go of Matt's frame and stepped away, heading towards the stairs to the den. "Have fun back at the academy, and say hi to Mom for me!" he shouted and waved over his shoulder.

"Mom?" Matt voiced his confusion aloud. "TK, wait a minute! What do you mean say hi to Mom?"

"Matt, come on! The taxi's here!" Daisuke hollered from outside.

'_Damnit!'_ Matt picked up his bag and gave one last wave to Ami before running out to the taxi, throwing his suitcase into the trunk. He climbed into the back seat and sat directly behind the driver. Daisuke climbed in next and sat himself in the middle, leaving Tai to sit on Daisuke's other side. The taxi slowly pulled away from the house and onto the open road, taking the boys away from the city and back towards the academy. Tai was busy sketching in his new sketchbook and Daisuke was once again playing his Gameboy Advance, leaving Matt to stare out the window blankly listening to an old System of a Down CD.

'_Sometimes I wish I could play like Daron Malakin.' _He sighed quietly. _'Wait…guitar…'_

"Shit!" he said aloud and sat straight up.

"What?" Tai looked over in alarm, leaving Daisuke to completely ignore the outburst.

"I left my guitar and guitar case at your house!" Matt cried and buried his face in his hands. "Aw man, how could I forget that?" Tai shrugged in response.

"Don't worry about it, I'll get it to you somehow," he said quietly and went back to sketching. Matt groaned loudly and shook his head.

"Damnit all," he cursed again, smacking his head against the window like some sort of punishment.

'_How the hell could I have possibly forgotten my guitar of all things? God, I can't make it through the rest of this cruddy school year without it! Then again, maybe if I wasn't so focused on escaping Tai…there we go again, thinking about Tai. What's so special about him anyway?'_ The blonde looked away from the window and peeked at the older brunet from the corner of his eye. Said brunet sat still except for the flying movements of his hands and the occasional look of concentration on his face. A few strands of deep brown hair floated in front of his face, standing out from the olive-tan of his skin.

'_Okay so other then the fact that he's good-looking and one of the best people I know in this lifetime, what's so special about him?' _

"Matt? Are you okay?" The blonde looked up at this question, finding himself staring into Tai's inquisitive muddy eyes. "Look, I'm really sorry about your guitar. Maybe Mom can send it up or something. We'll call her when we get to the academy okay?"

'_Oh yeah, there's also the fact that no matter how much I push him away or how rude I am to him, he still manages to keep a smile on his face and be sincere about it. God damnit, Tai…why do you have to be so…you?'_

"Sure, whatever works…actually I'll just pick up the guitar from your house sometime this summer. It's fine," Matt replied and went back to looking out the window. Tai nodded shortly and resumed his drawing.

'_It probably wouldn't be so bad if Tai was a girl. Because it's like TK was saying, that's considered normal. I'd definitely date Tai then…if he was a girl. So really the only thing stopping me from dating him is that…he's a guy? Man, how shallow does that make me?'_

"Take that you stupid Heartless! Bwahaha!" Daisuke interrupted his musing by declaring victory on his Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories game. "Hey Tai, when do we get to eat?"

"Whenever we get there I suppose. I think they'll be serving lunch for everybody who's arriving," Tai answered his brother without looking up from his drawing.

"Good because I am starving and then I wanna set up my Playstation," Daisuke declared as he hunched over his Gameboy. Apparently, another onslaught of Heartless was attacking.

'_Now see, that's how a normal guy should act. I bet Daisuke's never had a crush on Tai.' _Matt stopped to think about the wording of that, scrunching his face up in disgust once it processed.

'_Okay scratch that, I bet Daisuke's never had a crush on a guy in general. Why can't his brother be like? Or better yet, why can't _**I**_ be like that? It'd make things a whole lot easier.'_ He sighed wistfully and pressed the skip button on his CD player.

'_I bet Daisuke never has to worry about his reputation being at stake, lucky little punk. It's not fair; why did I have to be the one Tai decided to like. No, I'm not using the word love. Love isn't real. For crying out loud, we're only 15! Tai doesn't even know what love means. Then again, neither do I, so how would I know if what was happening between us is love? Oh…that's right…it's not, because he's a guy!'_ Matt growled at himself and attempted to focus more on the music and not on his thoughts. But his brain had other ideas for him.

'_Oh well, maybe if I snap my fingers and click my heels three times, it'll all go away. Yeah right. Why couldn't Tai have picked somebody who wouldn't be…well, I don't know. But why couldn't he have just picked somebody else? I don't need this right now…ever, actually. I have a new reputation to uphold. I don't need it to come crashing down because of a little crush. Tai and I will both get over it…they're just hormones anyway.' _He nodded his head sharply, as if to signify that he understood this. It was then he knew the solution to his problem, despite how difficult it would be. It had to be done no matter what.

Now, if he could just make it to the academy without developing a hard-on.

* * *

"Daisuke, can I talk to you for a second?" Daisuke looked up from his comic book, spotting Matt standing in the doorway of his room. 

"Um, sure. What's up?" Daisuke asked and closed the book, moving his body into a sitting position on his bed.

"Well, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you," Matt began, stepping into the room a little more.

"…what kind of favor?" Daisuke felt he had every right to be suspicious about Matt's offer, especially from the way he kept looking over his shoulder and out into the hallway.

"Something came up between me and your brother," the American boy continued as his voice dropped an octave.

"What kind of something? Is it bad?" Daisuke raised his eyebrows in alarm.

"No, no it's not **bad** like that. We just kind of had a big disagreement and it's going to be a long time before we can fix it." Daisuke nodded in understanding for a moment before it hit him.

"So what's the favor?"

"I want you to switch me rooms." Silence filled the room as Daisuke stared at Matt, blinking every now and again to make sure this was real.

"You want to switch rooms," he repeated and was rewarded with a nod. "What the hell do you wanna switch rooms for?" he exploded, throwing his arms into the air in exasperation.

"Daisuke, just trust me on this one all right? It's better for all of us." Matt ran a hand through his hair, praying with all of his might that Daisuke would accept his proposal. The younger boy still had a suspicious glint in his eye and a twitch on his lips that was bound to say no.

"But what about-"

"Look, it's not like you haven't roomed with him before. Besides, he's your brother," Matt cut him off.

"Yeah, but he's **your **best friend! What could possibly be so terrible that you can't room with him anymore?" Cinnamon eyes flared with fury at the situation.

"Like I said, just trust me. This is just the best solution. Please Daisuke, that's all I'm asking," Matt begged the mahogany-haired boy. Daisuke bit his lip and looked out into the hall behind Matt.

"Where's Tai?" he asked quietly, unhappy with the fact that his resolve was crumbling.

"He said something about the library, so if we're gonna do this, we gotta do it fast." Daisuke nodded in agreement and got off of the bed, picking up some random things from the floor.

"I'll start packing things up then," he said reluctantly as he moved towards the closet.

"Thank you **so** much, Daisuke, I owe you!" Matt shouted over his shoulder as he dashed out the door down to his own room. Daisuke nodded and sighed.

"Somebody better explain to me what the heck is going on and soon," he grumbled and grabbed his laundry basket from the bathroom, throwing everything in there. "But I really wonder if this is going to do more hurt then help for those two," he sighed again and set to work packing up his things.

* * *

"Are you really sure about this, Matt?" the younger boy asked unsurely as he looked around his new living space. 

"Sure I'm sure. Here's the key to this room. Can I have the key to your old room?" Matt held out his hand expectantly. Daisuke dug deep into his pockets, shortly producing the small key.

"All right, I guess we'll see you at dinner?" Daisuke said in a questioning manner. Matt nodded eagerly and snatched the key from Daisuke's palm.

"Yeah, see ya!" he said quickly before turning on his heel and darted down the hall, slamming the door of his new room loudly. Daisuke jumped at the noise and sighed, walking into his new room to arrange everything to his liking. Halfway through this process, his brother walked in.

"Daisuke? What are you doing?" he inquired and closed the book that was in his hand.

"Um…unpacking?" Daisuke replied with a shrug and nervous grin.

"What?"

"Unpacking, you need to learn to listen, Tai."

"…shouldn't you be unpacking in **your** room then? Not mine?" Tai reasoned with the younger boy and headed for his bed, sitting down with his book bag and book. Daisuke gave him a blank look and went back to stuffing the dresser.

"Didn't Matt tell you? We switched rooms. I'm not sure **why**, but we did," he informed the older brunet who felt his jaw, not to mention his heart, drop suddenly.

"**What?** Nobody informed me of this! When did this happen?" Tai exclaimed and looked around. All of Matt's stuff was picked up and gone, replaced by Daisuke's familiar junk.

"Just a little while ago actually. What's going on between you two anyway?" Daisuke didn't seem to notice Tai's shellshock, which was slowly fading into anger.

'_Not avoiding me, my ass.'_ The mud-eyed boy shook his head and shrugged.

"If I knew, I'd tell ya," he simply said and got to his feet, picking up his bag and book.

"Where are you going?" Daisuke looked up from his unpacking process.

"Back to the library. More research for our science project, y'know?" Tai waved half-heartedly and walked out the door, leaving Daisuke in his wake. Daisuke shrugged and went back to unpacking his underwear and socks and throwing them into the drawer in front of him. It wasn't until he picked up his pair of black boxers with the white hibiscus flower-print that he realized something very important.

"We don't **have** a science project," he said to himself aloud. He shook his head and set down his boxers. Obviously whatever was going on between Tai and Matt was something they didn't want to talk about, so he wasn't going to bother getting involved.

"Besides, it's time for dinner," he commented and closed the drawer he was working with.

* * *

Matt had decided that despite what he told Daisuke, he had to find a new place to eat. That was part two in his plan of getting Tai to get over him, the first obviously being to move out of his room. 

Thus began the hunt for a table of friends. Like that was going to be easy. After all, it wasn't like somebody was going to jump up and shout,

"Hey, Ishida! Over here!" Or maybe they would. Matt looked over to a table in the far corner where a boy with sandy brown hair was waving at him. The blonde recognized him as Toushi Niwa, a boy from his art class. Making his way across the cafeteria, he stopped in front of Toushi and his friends.

"Hey, Toushi," he greeted the other boy and nodded.

"Have a seat," Toushi returned and motioned to the space across from him. Matt quickly sat down with his plate. "I see you've finally decided to expand your circle of friends," he continued, examining Matt with his sage green eyes.

"Yeah, well, I thought I might as well." Matt shrugged and began to eat some of his pasta.

"Good move, man, good move," Toushi said and nodded in approval. "Oh, then lemme introduce you to these guys. That's Kyo," a boy with short orange hair and golden eyes, "Sachi," a boy with messy brown hair and blue eyes, "and our little Kiseki," a boy about a year younger then the rest with longer black hair, vibrant green bangs, and magenta-colored eyes.

"Contacts," Kiseki said before Matt could ask. Matt nodded and continued eating.

"So what made you decide to split from being with Yagami?" Kyo questioned him as he drank his milk through a straw. Matt shrugged again.

"I don't know. Just felt like it, I suppose," he responded through a mouthful of noodles. "Do I need a reason to suddenly expand my social circle?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No, not at all. We were just curious, don't get defensive, man." Sachi held up his hands.

"It's not defensive dude, it's curious sarcasm." Toushi smirked at this and nodded again in approval.

"Y'know Ishida, you're not bad. You're not bad at all," he confirmed. Matt gave him a half-smile and allowed his eyes to wander around the dining hall. His gaze eventually landed on his old eating spot. There sat Daisuke with a couple of boys Matt had never seen before, laughing and talking animatedly. However, he didn't see Tai anywhere. He looked around again, searching for the large bunch of brown hair but found nothing.

'_Well, I can think of a few people who would beg to differ.'_ He sighed inwardly and returned his attention to the conversation at hand, pushing Tai to the back of his mind.

* * *

The next morning was just a replay of the previous night; Matt eating breakfast with his new friends, Daisuke with his old friends, and Tai nowhere to be seen. 

In fact, Matt didn't see his old best friend until the minute bell rang for first class. The brunet skidded through the door and collapsed in his desk, hair a mess and dark circles under his eyes. Eiri followed him shortly.

"Morning guys, open your books and-" Eiri stopped and blinked. "Yamato, what are you doing over there?" He had just noticed that Matt was on the other side of the room from his usual seat.

"Just felt like a change, Eiri." Matt shrugged and took out his book. Eiri blinked again and looked over to Tai who was just staring at his desk top. Feeling that it'd be better not to ask, he opened his teacher's book and began the lesson.

It was like that all day; Matt reaching class earlier, sitting in a new spot, Tai coming in late, and their teachers (not to mention Daisuke) confused. Nobody knew what to say about it, so they let it slide.

They let it slide for three days before they realized they had a serious problem on their hands.

* * *

Tai dragged his feet into his second class and flopped at his desk heavily. He didn't even bother to look at where Matt was sitting today; he knew it was far away from him. Naku followed into the room after him along with Daisuke. 

"Hey!" Daisuke greeted him cheerfully. "You weren't at breakfast today." Tai looked up at his brother and gave him a rather forced smile.

"Yeah, I accidentally overslept," he replied instantly.

"I woke you up though. Did you fall asleep after I left?" Daisuke tilted his head to the side, occasionally looking up at Naku who was writing their lesson on the board.

"Yeah, I did. Sorry Dai, I promise not to do it again," Tai said and focused up front.

'_At least I'm not lying to him. This time.'_ Tai winced as his head continued to throb. Over the past few days, Tai had come up with any excuse to avoid eating in the dining hall. If that meant not eating at all, then so be it. It's what Matt wanted, to avoid him at any rate, and Tai was going to do anything possible to make Matt happy.

'_Although nobody ever said making somebody happy involved lack of sleep, hunger pains, and a throbbing headache of _**doom.**_'_ He stared at the board sullenly, squinting to make out the words Naku had written. The older blonde woman moved out of the way and grinned.

"Okay boys, here's your assignment for the day. I want you to think of an experience that has changed you, either for the better, or for the worst," she spoke clearly and turned to the board. Tai strained to hear her over the loud pounding in his ears and shook his head, feeling slightly dizzy. Naku pointed to the first sentence on the board.

"To start, here's an example. 'Before blank happened, I was blank.' Obviously you fill in the first blank with you experience and the second blank with your personality or view. Then you start writing. I want at least a page boys, at least. Much longer is fine. Is that understood?" She was rewarded with various nods and verbal agreements. "Good, get to work then," she ordered with a smile and sat back down at her desk, sending the class into a flurry of movements to grab pens and paper.

Tai sighed and propped his head up with his arm, elbow resting on the table. What to write about was the hard part. He knew there were plenty of things he could write about, like the time he ate eight corndogs before going on one of the fastest roller coasters in the amusement park.

'_Definitely not a pretty story.'_ He felt his stomach twist at the memory.

'_All right, maybe I should pick a different story.'_ He shook his head and went back to thinking. Many thoughts passed through his head; the day they got the cat, the day Daisuke came to live with him, the day he came to the academy…

"The day I met Haru," he muttered quietly to himself. He swallowed hard and took in a deep breath.

'_God, the day I met Haru…so many things changed. So many things became complicated.'_ He tugged on the collar of his white shirt, suddenly feeling hot and cramped.

"All right, since you guys can't seem to think of anything, maybe I should read an example," Naku interrupted their thinking process. She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a sheet of paper. "This is from a student of mine a few years back," she enlightened them and began to read.

'_When I met Haru, everything I grew up knowing was thrown out the window. The theory that boys are only suppose to like girls? Yeah, _**that**_ was gone! That was gone as soon as I kissed him…and liked it.'_ Tai shifted in his seat and became more conscious of the fact that there was more saliva in his mouth then normal. Naku continued to read, oblivious to Tai's discomfort and lack of attention.

'_I had to fight for what I felt was right for me, even though a lot of other people didn't think it was right. So many people thought it was wrong, and now…I don't believe it was wrong…just with the wrong person.'_ Tai felt himself break out into a cold sweat and sunk in his chair slightly. Daisuke looked over at him once he noticed Tai was fidgeting around.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, concern etched into his 12-year-old features. Naku continued to read and Tai let his mind wander.

'_Even Haru thought it was wrong. What we were doing was wrong…that I was wrong.'_ His hands started shaking and his head started throbbing more violently.

"Tai?" Daisuke called quietly again, failing to get his brother's attention.

'_And now Matt thinks it's wrong...that I'm wrong.'_ His stomach lurched sharply.

"Tai?"

'_Oh fuck.'_ With that last conscious thought, Tai bent his head forward, closed his eyes and opened his mouth, sending vomit all over his desk. Daisuke yelped in disgust and every head in the classroom turned towards the door where Tai was sitting, arms wrapped around his abdomen and hunched forward.

'_Okay…when I open my eyes, there is not going to be a huge puddle of…ew, on my desk. Everybody's eyes are _**not**_ going to be on me, and Naku's going to be reading that guy's paper still.'_ With a shaky breath, two brown eyes opened, greeted with the sight of a multicolored mess on his desk and the floor around him. Naku was standing a few feet in front of him and every student in the class was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Taichi, are you all right?" Naku questioned gently, for he had yet to unwrap his arms or lift his head.

'_Are you all right, she says. I have the most _**awful**_ fucking headache and I just puked my guts out. Yeah, I'm just _**fucking**_ awesome.'_ Tai snorted quietly and mentally slapped himself. _'No need to be sarcastic, moron, she doesn't know that.'_ Taking another deep breath and gathering all of the courage he could, he lifted his head and looked straight into Naku's eyes.

"Yeah…I'm all right," he assured her with another fake smile. "But can I just be excused for the rest of the day?" He was sure he looked pitiful by this point and had no doubt in his mind about what Naku would say.

"Go ahead. Do you want somebody to go with you?" she offered. Tai shook his head and stood up, careful to step around his puddle of puke.

"No, I think I'll be okay. Thank you." He bowed to her and headed for the door. He stepped out into the hall and turned for the stairs. Daisuke took one look at the mess on the floor next to him and shot his hand into the air.

"Naku, can I go with him and make sure he's okay?" Naku nodded silently and walked towards her phone, assumingly to call for a custodian. Daisuke packed up his bag and grabbed Tai's, which he had forgotten in his haste to get away, and headed for the door as well. But not before looking back at Matt and shooting him a dirty look, almost as if it were his fault.

If only he knew how close to home he was.

Daisuke reached their room and opened the door, noticing that it was unlocked. Dropping both bags on the floor, his eyes scanned around the room.

"Tai?" he called out. He was rewarded with the repulsing sounds of Tai retching in the bathroom nearby. Cautiously, Daisuke walked over towards the door and looked in. The sight that greeted him was his older brother kneeling on the floor, arms crossed on the rim of the toilet and head on his arms, panting heavily trying to catch his breath.

"Okay, what's going on?" Daisuke stepped into the bathroom and moved towards his brother slowly, afraid that he'd lunge and attack him.

"What does it look like?" Tai muttered darkly, fighting off another wave of nausea.

"No, I want answers from you, Tai, not my speculations. Why haven't you been eating? Why haven't you been sleeping well? Why haven't you and Matt talked for the past five days?" Daisuke demanded answers, leaning against the wall next to the toilet. Tai remained in his hunched-over position, gnawing on his lip and trying to find an answer.

"I…don't know, Daisuke."

"What the hell do you mean you don't know?" Tai looked up sharply.

"I mean I don't **know** damnit! If I knew, don't you think Matt and I would be normal again?" he shouted in a hoarse voice, eyes glimmering with tears and laced with fire. Daisuke blinked and backed away on instinct.

"I guess so. You mean you have no idea at all?"

"Well, I might have some idea." Tai stood up and flushed the toilet, dragging himself back out to the main room and dropping his tired body on the bed.

"What would that idea be?" Daisuke followed him and sat on the other bed. Tai sighed and planted his face into his pillow.

"I kissed him on New Year's Eve and that evidently didn't thrill him as much as it did me," he told the younger Japanese boy.

"**What!** You **kissed** him? Were you planning on telling me this?" Daisuke exploded at this new discovery, although he wasn't that surprised.

"If things worked out in my favor, yeah. But since they didn't, well, no I really wasn't planning on saying anything. But now you know," Tai sighed loudly. "My head hurts, can you go away?"

"Your head hurts because you have a migraine because you haven't eaten and you keep losing sleep. We learned all of this in health," Daisuke said in one breath. "I'm gonna go down to the kitchens and see if I can snag you some food, or maybe I'll just bring you up lunch. Yeah, I'll do that. But you stay here and rest and argh!" he changed subjects abruptly.

"What argh?" Tai asked, quite used to the fact that his brother was scatterbrained.

"You're going to miss the first day of Phsy. Ed!" This statement caused Tai to bolt upright.

"What?"

"Yeah, we start today, last lesson of the day," Daisuke confirmed. Tai blinked and his eyes hardened.

"Daisuke, go back to class and then bring me lunch. There's no way in hell I'm missing P.E." he commanded. Daisuke hid a grin and picked up his backpack, swinging it over his shoulder.

"Sure, Tai. I'll bring you food later. You just lay here and try to get rid of your headache okay?"

"Okay." Daisuke nodded and shut the door, walking down the hall towards the stairs leading up a level.

"I knew that would work," he said with a smirk and shook his head, entering Naku's classroom for the rest of the period.

* * *

Matt sat at his new table with his lunch and his new friends, watching the doors closely. He had just watched Daisuke walk into the dining hall and get in line for food. The mahogany-haired boy had grabbed enough food to feed a small army, which could only mean one thing; Tai was feeling better. Daisuke grabbed a bottle of water and a bottle juice and left the line, heading over towards the door. It was just as he reached there that he turned back, locked eyes with Matt, and gave him a harsh glare before turning on his heel and walking upstairs. 

"What's that Motomiya kid got against you?" Sachi asked Matt, drawing the blonde's attention back to his table.

"Well, that **is** Tai's little brother," Kyo answered instead, picking apart his salad.

"Half-brother, actually," Matt corrected him. "And I don't know what he has against me. He probably thinks that Tai being sick is my fault or something."

"Oh man, that was so sick!" Toushi interjected as he sat down at the table, Kiseki right behind him. "Couldn't he have taken that somewhere else?"

"What happened?" Kyo and Sachi both questioned. Kiseki sat down and calmly opened his bottle of soda.

"Tai threw up in class. It wasn't a big deal," he stated and fixated his eyes on his food. Toushi stared at him like he was insane.

"Wasn't a big deal? Did you witness the same gross-out that the rest of us did?" Kiseki nodded and shrugged.

"Like I said, wasn't a big deal." Toushi snorted and shook his head.

"Whatever, stupid fag had it coming. I hope he stays sick for a few days," he muttered and chomped on some potato chips.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think, Toush?" Matt blinked at the tone of voice Toushi was using. Toushi looked up and stared at Matt.

"No, not really. I mean, Tai would have been fine if he didn't announce his sexuality to the entire school. Now, he's totally open for insults and free shots." Toushi went back to eating.

"But is it really so bad?" Matt questioned, toying with his own food. Kyo stared at him in horror.

"Uh, yeah man, it is. Think about it. All-**male** school? He's mainly attracted to males?" Kyo shuddered and looked at his plate.

"But he's bi," Matt continued to argue.

"How do you know that's not just a cover-up? Maybe he's truly gay and he says bi to make it seem not so bad," Sachi pointed out. Matt licked his lips and thought it through. Sachi's words made sense; but Tai would have told him if he was honestly gay.

Wouldn't he?

"Whatever, point being, it doesn't surprise me that he lost a few friends. I wouldn't want to be hanging out with somebody knowing that they could be fantasizing about my ass," Toushi said and threw away his empty chip bag, moving onto his sandwich.

"Yeah, Ishida, how'd you stand it for so long?" Kyo asked.

"I don't know…I just found out he was bi a few days ago," the American boy answered honestly.

"No wonder." Sachi rolled his eyes.

"You made the right choice, dude. I woulda dumped his ass too if I were you." Toushi nodded and stood up. "I'm heading to class, anybody coming with?"

"Me," Kyo said and stood up as well, grabbing his bag from the floor.

"Wait for me guys," Sachi requested and jumped out of his seat.

"Are you two coming?" Toushi looked at Matt and Kiseki.

"Still eating," Kiseki said around a mouthful of pizza.

"Same here, we'll catch up later," Matt assured the "leader" of the group. Toushi nodded and the three boys walked away. Matt glanced over at Kiseki who was quietly nibbling at his food. It then occurred to him that he hadn't heard an argument from the black-haired boy.

"You don't have an opinion?" he prodded the younger boy. Kiseki looked up and locked eyes with Matt.

"Oh, I have an opinion," Kiseki replied and looked away. Matt stared at him silently for a few moments before regaining his senses.

"Well…can I hear it?" Kiseki threw away his trash and toyed with his hair.

"My opinion is if you like being with Tai, then screw what everybody's going to say about it. Screw them if they ask if you two are lovers. Screw them if they ridicule you. Screw them if they're judgmental," he said and looked up at Matt closely. "I know you're trying to stop your friendship with Tai because you're afraid of what everybody's going to think, right?" Matt fidgeted under Kiseki's magenta gaze.

'_Well, close enough.' _He shook his head to clear the stray thoughts before Rational and Irrational could join in the fight.

"Yeah, kinda," Matt answered.

"Well like I said, screw what everybody thinks. All that matters is what you think. Tai's a great guy and if I were you, I wouldn't throw away a friendship with a great person," Kiseki finished his little speech and got up from the table.

"But I don't want people to think I'm gay," the blonde blurted out before he could stop himself. Kiseki's eyes widened a bit before returning to their cool narrow slits.

"Who's to say people are going to think you are? And even if they do, big freakin' deal. That's just a few people's opinion. Think about the big picture, Matt. What's more important; a few people's opinions, or the opinion of your best friend?" Kiseki peered down at Matt from the end of his nose.

"I guess…when you look at it that way," Matt trailed off, not quite sure what to say. Kiseki shrugged and picked up his bag from under the bench he was sitting on.

"Whatever, Matt, it's your call. Do what **you** want, not what you think everybody else wants." And with those final words, Kiseki departed and the bell rang, signaling that everybody needed to get to class soon. Matt heaved a heavy sigh and grabbed his own bag, getting up from the table and following everybody else out of the dining hall, Kiseki's words on his mind and lots of guilt on his heart.

* * *

"This is the last class of the day. All you have to do is make it through this one and then you're free to go and figure out your big mess," Matt said to himself as he filed into the gym with everybody else, dressed down in a new uniform: a plain white t-shirt and green knee-length shorts. The boys all got into a straight line against the wall, waiting for their instructor to show up. Matt looked down the line to see any familiar faces. Daisuke was in this class as well, standing down towards the opposite end of the line from where he was. Kiseki and Toushi were also in his class, quietly arguing with each other somewhere in the middle of the line. He recognized Kayden and Takota from his second class, Kayden waving his arms around widely and Takota looking rather confused at the very end of the line closest to him. And everybody else? 

Complete strangers. Oh well, something to look forward to, meeting more people. Suddenly a man of about 5'10" walked into the gym, hiking boots thumping against the floor loudly. He stopped in front of the line and dropped his bag of supplies behind him. His brownish-blonde hair was cut short, about two inches at the most and there wasn't much he could do with it. His eyes were a mixture of greens and golds and his ears stuck out just a bit; not enough to be a problem, but enough to be noticeable. He too was dressed in a white t-shirt but instead of the green shorts, he had on a pair of camouflage pants that complimented his tanned skin nicely.

"All right, people listen up!" he called them all to attention. "The name's John Bjornstad."

"Uh, can you run that by us again?" Kayden twisted his lips trying to pronounce the last name.

"Just call me John, all right?" John shook his head and motioned towards the mats on the floor. He reached into the bag behind him and started digging around. "Since it's too cold to do anything outside and basketball is too repetitive, the school brought me in to teach you the art," he stopped talking for dramatic effect and pulled out a nice-sized katana, "of sword-fighting." He smiled widely and gave the katana a few test swings.

"Are we really going to use real swords?" Toushi's eyes were wide at the prospect. John laughed and shook his head.

"Of course not, you all would hurt yourself. Despite how easy it looks, sword-fighting is a difficult skill to master, which is why I'm here to show you," he finished his explanation just as the gym doors banged open, revealing a much more active Taichi.

"Sorry I'm late, sir. I couldn't find my uniform," Tai rushed his excuse as he tugged on his sneaker and got in line with Daisuke.

"Well who are you and I'll excuse you," John said matter-of-factly and reached for his attendance sheet.

"Yagami Taichi," Tai panted and leaned against the wall. John nodded and marked him off.

"Right, as I was saying, while you are learning how to fight, you will be using the bokken." John reached into his bag and held up a wooden sword, similar in shape and size to the katana he held in the other hand.

"Now, before I begin to show you the proper way to use a bokken, has anybody ever fought with a sword before?" he asked the group, twirling the bokken in his fingers.

"Does fencing count?" Matt voiced from his spot in line.

"Yes. Have you fenced before?" John looked on curiously.

"Yes, a few times," Matt replied. At the other end of the line, Tai raised his hand.

"Yagami, have you fenced as well?" John called on him.

"No sir, I used to practice kendo," Tai said. John nodded to himself and looked at the two boys. An idea came to him then and he grinned, showing off his canine-like teeth. Moving the bag of bokkens out of the way and taking his katana with him, he motioned for them to step onto the mats. He swiftly tossed them a bokken and a face guard each and after a little struggle with his hair, Tai managed to get his on.

"All right class, before **I** show you, why don't we let these two show us?" Cheers erupted from the crowd as they circled around. John sent each boy to opposite ends of the mat and took out a whistle.

"Okay guys, on my count. One, two, fight!" John blew his whistle loudly. Matt moved first, charging at Tai with every intention of bringing the bokken down over his head, only Tai wasn't there anymore. The brunet had sidestepped the attack and was standing behind Matt, swinging at the blonde's back. Matt blocked the attack and backed away, giving Tai the stare-down and planning his next move. Rage began to build up inside of him; rage from the confusion he was feeling, rage from the people who weren't accepting, rage from Tai acting on his feelings, and rage for himself.

Well, maybe he'll just stick with the rage from Tai. He jumped forward, swiping at Tai's side but Tai blocked the attack.

"I can't believe you would just ditch me like that, Matt!" Tai shouted over the smashing of the wooden swords. Evidently, rage against the other boy was taking its toll on the brown-eyed boy as well. He went for an over-head strike.

"It's not my fault that you made everything all weird now!" Matt successfully blocked the attack and ran the other direction, coming up behind Tai to use the tactic he had tried earlier.

"Why is everything my fault, you asshole!" Tai turned and knocked the sword away from his back, sending Matt stumbling back as well.

"Well it's certainly not my fault! After all, I'm not the one who decided to kiss me!" Matt said the last part lowly, becoming aware that his classmates could hear their conversation. He regained his balance and charged back at Tai again, swinging his sword at the Japanese boy's chest.

"Yeah but you didn't deny it either! You didn't push me away!" Tai shot back, bringing his own sword up to his chest to block the attack.

"How could I? I wasn't in control of my actions, it's called champagne!" Matt used his body weight to apply pressure to the sword, slowly lowering Tai towards the floor.

"Well who's fault is that?" Tai grunted and pushed back up with just as much force, turning the tables so that it was Matt who was lowering towards the floor.

"Yours!" Matt tried to fight but he could feel Tai adding pressure to the swords.

"Again with the everything is my fault shit. Stop being such a jerk!" Tai spat out. He knew he had just about won this fight. Matt was only two feet from the ground when he got a sudden energy surge.

"You're the jerk, jerk!" he snapped up and came back almost full-force, sending Tai flying towards the other end of the mat. Tai managed to stay on his feet and came charging back.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not a little pussy who's afraid of what everybody else thinks!" He jumped into the air and came down, bringing the sword with him right over Matt's head. Upon instinct, Matt's sword flew up and stayed above his head, allowing Tai's bokken to hit wood instead of skull. Tai seized the chance to press down quickly, sinking Matt to the floor.

'_He knows. He knows exactly what's going on.'_ The blue-eyed boy watched blankly as Tai pushed him all the way to the floor, too frozen from the realization to fight back. So much pressure was applied from Tai's sword that as soon as Matt's knees gave way, both he and Tai landed on the floor, Tai on top and Matt on the bottom admitting defeat. Silence reigned through the gym, save for the two boys panting on the floor. John broke that silence and began to clap loudly.

"Well done, boys, well done. I do believe Yagami is the winner though," he declared and began to distribute bokkens from the bag. "Now, the first thing I'm going to teach you is a defense maneuver." He began instructing, leaving the two boys on the mat to themselves. Lifting up his face guard, Tai stared directly into Matt's eyes, or what he guessed to be his eyes, seeing how the blonde hadn't removed his guard yet.

"Y'know, I don't know if I've told you this, so I'm just going to tell you right now while you're listening," Tai started out as he got rid of the face guard completely. "There's nothing you can do to change it, so tough shit if you don't like it. I think I'm in love with you. End of story." The brunet pushed himself off of the blonde and jogged towards Daisuke, leaving Matt with his head spinning and heart racing.

* * *

Good grief, I can't believe it took me so long to write this stupid chapter. 36 pages without author's notes guys. I know this was full of a bunch of drama angst crap right after a bunch of Taito fluff but hey, if I put them together now, we wouldn't have a plot, would we? Well, I decided to start putting the review replies on the bottom because I know people want to just get to the story without scrolling through a bunch of random crap that doesn't apply to them. So go ahead and find your name and then leave another review if you liked this chapter. They're highly appreciated! Thanks for being so patient you guys, hopefully I'll have chapter 12 out by the middle of August. See ya then! 

Oh by the way, if anybody's interested, nEo-cHaN decided she was going to open up a store to sell pitchforks to use against me. God help me…

Kawaii Kyo And Totchi-Sama: Jeeze girl, how many times are you gonna change your name? Ha, just joking. Evil? Me? Well, you probably think I'm really evil now, but I'm glad you love me and my fics all the same.

Tsuki no Lomelinde: Okay, I won't leave it like that…I'll leave it like this! How's that for cruel and unusual? Don't worry, I'll fix it soon, within the next update.

YugiYamiForever: Thanks, glad you liked the chapter. You love my writing style too? Thanks, wow. Here's another update!

CrimsonAnjel: I hate having a busy life man, even in the summer. But I'm glad you people are understanding and that the longness makes up for it. I love all the compliments you give me, they make me feel special about myself. And before you say it again, I hate ICP too…but I also hate clowns, so I felt that I should put that in there. And no, I don't like Avril Lavigne before you ask, lol. Hope you liked this chapter!

DarkMetalAngel of Destruction: Glad you liked it, here's some more for ya.

senTAY: TAY! I'll post your reply elsewhere my darling, lol.

nEo: Okay you know what…just no! Lol, I love you. Yes, I still have you gigantic review in my inbox. It's treasured now! And you haven't withered yet, so maybe this'll bring you to life long enough to update KUKACHI SINCE I GAVE YOU IDEAS! Anyways…I'll probably be talking to you on MSN when you review.

Bonnie Mizuhara Asakura: Wow, really? Thank you so much! You might hate me now for making TK the way I did, but I will fix him later on in the story, I promise! Kari'll fix him. Haru…I hope I gave enough hints to the Haru thing and Matt was drunk most of that night and Daisuke showed up in the morning. Wow. Ha, anyway, here's a update…or, there WAS an update. Hope it was good enough!

JohnneyAntonelli: Well, maybe not three months, lol. Glad you liked the chapter and I NEVER IS BAD! Just remember that! Hope this update was good for ya!

Kaiya5: Glad you liked it! And yes, Arial was in it, he wouldn't stop asking for a cameo. But yes, Yama wasn't depressed in this chapter…just angry. I don't know which is worse. Dais came back! But I didn't put him in the chapter enough. Not enough Dais love…oh well, chapter 12 will most be dedicated to him, just cause I love him. Lol, anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Angelbaby: I wrote more and I'm glad you enjoy the story.

ryuu-takahashi: No.

regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: Actually, Koush will show up in the sequel quite a bit to make up for not being in this one a whole lot. It just wouldn't be a Digi-fic without Koushiro right? I updated as soon as I could.

kal-kal 'aka kalizuta': Yes, Taitoness! Too bad it didn't last long huh? It'll come back!

DawnAurilain: Glad you liked it and the Taito-action. Too bad it didn't stay, but it shall come back! Promise! I hope this update was soon enough for you.

Dreamcrafter: Haha, I updated as fast as I could. I know, all of the good stories seem to stop in the middle, it's really sad. I just felt like I had to bring some of the Digimon in somehow, and Piedmon seemed like a good choice, even though I hate clowns with a freakin passion. I shoulda just had Matt with a hangover…things would have been easier. Anyway, in regards to the review you left on my Sorato…don't worry, I'll never like writing Sorato half as much as I love writing Taito. I still don't know why I'm doing it.

CartoonHeroes: Emu! Hey man, I'm talking to you as I type this, woo! Anyway, yeah this wasn't soon, so shoot me, er, give me a bagel…there we go. Glad you liked the last update. As for will Matt stop being a pussy? Guess you got your question answered. Oh, and just remember, it wouldn't be Taito love is Yama was a girl!

minnermon: Yay for the kinda-Taito! I'm glad somebody else saw it as being more real. Everybody seems to love Ari…and I can't figure out why. But yeah, he was begging for a cameo for him and Ryan and Akira, who by the way yes is usually like that (unless he's feeling depressed. He's not mine, you'd have to ask his creator). Anyway, yes, Daisuke came back. This wasn't a soon update, I know, but I tried. Hope this was good enough for you.

SnakeMistress: YAY FOR BOB! I have the perfect spot for him too. I don't like Tai death…it's sad. Daisuke torture, can't have enough. Ah, Haru. Hopefully I gave enough inside details and if not, more shall be revealed later. Shirt! I like that shirt too. AND I HATE THE DAMN ICP SHIRT! I don't like clowns either…evil. Yeah, calling Tai eccentric probably is an understatement, ah well. Anyway, I'm glad you liked so much of the last chapter and hopefully you aren't going to kill me now for the way this chapter turned out. Bye!

The Kaizeress: This isn't soon, but I tried! Evil is a word I'm hearing a lot lately…I'm glad you like the fic though!

Octavo: Hey! I dunno when you're going to be able to read this is you have minimum internet time, but hey, whenever, it's waiting for you. Anyway, I'm glad you thought the LAST chapter was totally awesome. And you're like the third person to mention Arial, lol. I love my little Ari so it's ok. Yeah, I re-read that part and it does seem a little odd, so when I go through and re-edit, I might change it or just nix it. Double-length eh? Cool. And yes! I agree about the Digimon thing. Just didn't feel right…

cute-little-Yugi: It happened, and yes I did. Lol. You look forward to reading them? Wow, that makes me happy, very happy! Hopefully this chapter wasn't too bad.

Angemon: Again with the evil…ooh boy. I updated as soon as I could! Don't kill me…and I love cliffies! So much fun. Anyway, glad you liked the last chapter cause I have a feeling I'm gonna get a LOT of stuff back on this one. And Haru…well, I hope you know who he is now! And I would love to have hundreds of clones of me. Although then the world might face Armageddon. And yes, shopping cart racing is fun.

angel-with-a-scythe: Okay, so we all agree that it was awesomely evil. Okay! Okay, you know, after I read your review, I was REALLY tempted to randomly throw in a Taito sex scene, but I didn't…that's what the sequel's for.

SelenaWheeler: Yes, so close, yet, not! Hee, Matt feels abused now. They'll get together soon, promise, either the next chapter or the chapter after that. Definitely by then.

Taito Lover: I continued but I can't guarantee that I'll finish this really soon. Soon enough though, I SHALL NOT ABANDON IT! Glad you like it.

tya: I updated, hopefully Haru was explained and the necklace will be explained later. Thanks for reading!

BreateMeDeep: Yeah, what's wrong with you man? Not reviewing until that late, jeeze! Just joking. I'm glad you liked everything so much, jeeze. Have I rambled about how wonderful YOU are yet? Eh, anyway, Eyes is on hold to work on…well, this. So hopefully you'll accept this and UPDATE DEFY STEREOTYPES SOON!

Largo-sensei: Yes, quite a few people have declared me evil. I'm glad you liked the story and took the time to review, always appreciated!

Yamato's Tiger Lily: Well…you tell me if he liked it, lol. Hopefully this is still up to your expectations, even though it took a while to update.

K.C. Raven: Wow, I'm glad to see you're so enthusiastic, lol. I updated when I could!


	12. Pensive

Hi all, chapter 12 here, hope you like it! Replies at the bottom! BTW, I edited some parts of this chapter, so you might wanna re-read it. Have fun!

* * *

Confused didn't even begin to describe how Motomiya Daisuke felt at the present moment. However, confusion was something he was used to by now. 

After all, he lived with Tai.

But it wasn't just Tai that made him confused. Throw Matt into the mix and you had a clueless little twelve-year-old. And if he didn't figure things out in a few weeks, he was going to be a clueless little thirteen-year-old.

In exactly 19 days, he would turn 13. While the idea was exciting to him, he couldn't help but feel put out about it because of the situation between his brother and his brother's best friend. It had almost been a whole month since those two had stopped talking to each other.

"Actually, it has been a whole month. Today is the second and that was the day Matt and I traded rooms," the mahogany-haired boy mused aloud. Having gotten sick of being in the middle of what he dubbed the "Taito Fallout" (Taito being a combination of their first names), he had grabbed a bagel and an individual carton of milk for breakfast, choosing to seek refuge in his first period's classroom.

Anthropology: defined as the scientific study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural developments of humans. But as Daisuke saw it, it was just how people worked. He enjoyed studying people, hence why he was taking the class to begin with; that and the class offered more then textbook knowledge. Kimoya-sensei made sure of that. Daisuke was flipping through his notes and munching on his bagel when his quiet escape was interrupted.

"Oh sorry, am I interrupting you?" a male voice spilled out smoothly. Daisuke blinked and choked on his breakfast, hacking and wheezing loudly. He took a long swallow of milk and looked up at the door menacingly. A pair of magenta eyes twinkled mischievously as the boy leaned against the doorframe.

"Uh, no, not at all," Daisuke managed to say and set down his milk, giving his full-attention to the other boy. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Not really...this is my class too, if you haven't noticed." A set of straight white teeth formed into an impish grin. Daisuke blinked and squinted at the door.

"You're one of Matt's new friends, right?" he asked. The boy stepped closer to Daisuke, flipping his black hair off to one side.

"Kiseki," he introduced himself and held out his hand. Daisuke nodded and shook it firmly.

"I'm Da-"

"Daisuke, I know. You're Tai's little brother."

"Right…" Daisuke trailed off with a frown.

'_Because all I am is Tai's little brother. That's the only reason people even know I exist.' _He sighed inwardly and returned his attention to Kiseki.

"So why haven't I seen you in this class before?" he questioned the black-haired male. Kiseki sat in a desk next to Daisuke and dropped his bag on the floor.

"Because I normally sit in the back of the room, head down, hair in my face, don't say a word, you get the general idea," the magenta-eyed boy said as he propped his feet up on his desk.

"Oh."

"Yep, that's just about it. But anyway, why are you hanging out in here? I figured you'd be with your brother or your friends or something?" Daisuke groaned at the question and shook his head.

"It's a long complicated story," he sighed and got up, throwing his trash into the disposal bin at the front of the room.

"Let me guess. Because of the fact that Matt and Tai are both super-stubborn and won't apologize and because they're both your friends, you feel frustrated that you can't fix things between them so for right now you're just avoiding both of them and the problem at hand," Kiseki predicted all in one breath. Daisuke stared at him with wide eyes, moving his jaw up and down trying to form words. The younger boy cleared his throat and blinked.

"How did you know that?" he asked in a low voice. Kiseki looked around the room, looked behind them to make sure they were absolutely alone before leaning in closely to the side of Daisuke's face.

"Can you keep a secret?" he whispered. Daisuke involuntarily shivered as Kiseki's hot breath tickled the tip of his ear.

"Um, sure I can," he assured the older boy. Kiseki nodded in approval and brought his mouth closer to Daisuke's ear.

"I'm psychic," he said quietly. Daisuke shivered again and relaxed under Kiseki's control, almost slumping down into his seat until he finally realized what the other boy had said.

"What?"

"I'm psychic. You know, can read people's minds and see the future and stuff like that," Kiseki explained vaguely.

"No, I know what it means, but what the hell are you talking about you're psychic? How the hell could you be psychic?"

"Well, mainly for the fact that there's no other explanation," Kiseki started out, twirling a lock of hair around his finger. "I was sent to this school because my foster parents believed that I was sick in the head for claiming I was psychic and for being able to do what I can do. I've been here for three years and nobody can figure out what's wrong with me, even though I knew they wouldn't. Because there's nothing wrong with me, this is how I'm supposed to be."

"In a land of make-believe, that don't believe in me," Daisuke muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Heh, Green Day song. I bought Tai the CD for Christmas and I listened to that song," Daisuke said through a nervous laugh.

"Jesus of Suburbia," Kiseki filled in.

"Yeah, you've heard it?"

"Well that and psychic, remember?"

"Not this again!" Daisuke groaned and shook his head, boring his eyes into the side of Kiseki's head. "If you're really psychic, prove it."

"And how do you propose I do that?" A black eyebrow rose up in speculation.

"I don't know, read my mind," the cinnamon-eyed boy challenged.

"…you want me to just randomly read your mind."

"Yes."

"All right then," Kiseki agreed to the challenge and stared directly into Daisuke's eyes. The younger boy squirmed slightly under the intense gaze.

'_Man, this is really weird.'_ He cringed. Kiseki nodded and grinned slightly.

"You didn't believe that I could read your mind and you find it weird that I was staring at you?" Kiseki predicted.

"Okay, so maybe you can read minds. Big deal. That still doesn't explain much," grumbled Daisuke, shoving his hands deep into his pockets

"Well what else do you want to know?" Kiseki questioned, toying with his bangs absently.

"Who else knows you're psychic?" Daisuke suppressed a yawn.

Kiseki scratched his nose and leaned back in his seat farther. "Well, my foster family but obviously they don't believe me, you, Naku but I'm not sure if she believes me either, and that's about it."

"Doesn't Toushi know? I figured he would since you two are always together," Daisuke stated. He was rewarded with a rather blank look. "What?"

"Didn't I say my foster family knows?" Kiseki retorted and licked his lips.

"Yeah, and?" Daisuke questioned back, not quite piecing the puzzle together. Kiseki sighed.

"As much as I don't like admitting it, Toushi is my foster brother, or whatever the correct terminology for it is. I've been living with the Niwas for almost six years now."

"Wow, why?"

Kiseki shrugged and shook his head. "Does it really matter?"

"…I suppose not," Daisuke replied slowly. Kiseki nodded and gave off a small grin.

"Perhaps some other time I'll fill you in. But for now, I do believe the bell's going to ring," he said and no sooner than the words left his lips the school bell went off.

"Lemme guess…psychic?" Daisuke sighed quietly.

"Nope, there's a clock behind your head," Kiseki chuckled with a triumphant smirk.

"Oh…" Daisuke trailed off as students filled the halls with their loud chattering and running. Kiseki climbed out of the desk he was sitting in and began making his way to the back corner of the room.

"Hey, you don't have to leave. Sit down, stay a while," Daisuke insisted and waved his hand vaguely over the desk Kiseki was just occupying. Kiseki blinked once, twice, and then sat down, staring at Daisuke in amazement as the other boys began piling into the room.

"You took this whole 'I'm psychic and nobody believes me' thing pretty well," the black-haired boy commented lightly.

"Well I know what it's like to have people doubt you. You don't need one more on top of that list. Besides, I figure if you have one person to believe you, it's better then none at all." Daisuke shrugged.

"Wow…that was deep, man," Kiseki whistled lowly.

"Eh, I guess so but whatever." Daisuke opened his book bag, searching for his thin textbook, leaving Kiseki to do the same. The other boys got into their seats no sooner than their teacher walked in. The final bell rang and every one of them quieted down, anxiously awaiting the lesson for the day. Mr. Kimoya dropped his blazer on his chair, his briefcase on the other side of his desk, and leaned against the front of the desk, brushing a few strands of chestnut brown hair from his forehead.

"It's nice to see you all so enthusiastic, especially for a Monday morning," he started off with a grin. "You won't be needing your text books, boys, we're going to have a group discussion today." He reached into one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a green wiffle ball.

"About what, Mr. K?" a young boy with dark red hair questioned as he dropped the book under his desk.

"I'll get there, Kiyouji, be patient," Mr. Kimoya laughed and hopped up onto his desk, sitting down and leaning forward to watch his class. "Now, today I thought we could talk about why it is that human beings care so much about what other human beings think of them. Does anybody have any ideas on the subject?" Several hands shot into the air enthusiastically. Mr. Kimoya let out a surprised laugh and grinned widely.

"Wow, I see that we have a lot of ideas. All right, Maikeru, why don't you start us off?" he suggested and tossed the ball to a boy in the front corner. Maikeru caught the ball and began speaking.

"Okay, here's what I think. I think that people care about other people's opinions because they want to prove that they're an individual and that they don't really care what people think, but in order to not care, they have to first know what those opinions are and decide if they want to care about them or not," Maikeru explained and nodded triumphantly.

"What planet are **you** on?" somebody snorted. It was a surprise that it came from Kiseki himself. He never took a part in these discussions, merely listening and voting for sides, but that was because he never had anything to say up until now.

"You beg to differ, Kiseki?" Mr. Kimoya inquired, casting the boy a curious glance.

"Heck yes I do." Kiseki nodded assertively.

"Well then, let's hear it." Mr. Kimoya motioned for Maikeru to hand the ball over to Kiseki, awaiting the boy's argument. Reluctantly, Maikeru threw the ball to Kiseki who caught it with one-hand.

"My theory is the complete opposite of Mai's. I think that people care about other people's opinions because they want to be liked. They're afraid of how people will react to certain situations that arise." Kiseki paused for a moment, tossing the ball between each hand before continuing. "For example, I know this guy who is extremely worried right now about what other people are going to think of him. Because of this, he cut off ties with somebody very important to him just to save his reputation and now he's paying the price. However, the one he is avoiding couldn't care less about what people thought of him and he's proved that time and time again. Now the question is, which one is acting in the right state of mind, the one who's afraid to be himself to blend in with society or the one who would rather be in the minority?"

Mr. Kimoya nodded thoughtfully. "That is a good question. Would anyone like to share their thoughts on it?" Daisuke's hand shot in the air.

"Yes, Daisuke?" Mr. Kimoya called on the youngest boy in the class. Daisuke reached over and retrieved the ball from Kiseki.

"I'm going to have to say that the one in the minority is right."

"Why do you say that?" Mr. Kimoya prodded, folding his arms over his chest.

"Because…" Daisuke stopped talking, staring at his desktop.

"Because what?"

"Because…because he's probably happier being himself than trying to live up to what other people want him to be. If people spend their wholes lives trying to be something they're not, they're only going to end up being miserable and hating themselves for the rest of time. Because if they're living life just to please others, they're going to make mistakes, lose things they really feel passionate about, sever ties that were so strong, and destroy relationships." Daisuke looked around the room, only to find that all eyes were on him, staring intently and urging him to continue. He glanced at Kiseki out of the corner of his eye. The black-haired boy gave him a small wink and a grin, leaving Daisuke to return a smile of his own.

"The whole point of life is to leave a mark that the people around you will recognize and remember you for, but how can they do that if everybody is trying to be exactly the same, trying to be normal in the eye of society? There would be no way of telling everybody apart, it all goes back to the point of being unique. I think that people value other people's opinions because they're afraid of being unique in fear of being remembered for something horrible, or rather something that others look down upon. But people shouldn't care. The ultimate goal in life is to live it to the fullest in pure happiness; what's the point of living if you're so freely going to give away that chance? That's all," Daisuke finished and handed the ball back to Mr. Kimoya. The green-eyed teacher stared at his student in pure astonishment.

'_He's not even 13 yet, and already he has a firm grasp on the way our world is today and what needs to be done to change it. It's almost as if he's speaking from pure experience.'_ The older man shook his head slowly and cleared his throat, standing up and walking over to the blackboard.

"Okay, so now that we have some ideas, let's look at both sides of the issue," he said, scrawling out two lists on the board as the boys shouted out ideas and the class proceeded, leaving Kimoya to push Daisuke's argument into the back of his mind.

* * *

"You were totally talking about Tai and Matt, weren't you?" Daisuke asked his newfound friend as soon as they stepped out of the classroom, heading down the hall to their second period class. Kiseki nodded and shifted his bag further up onto his shoulder. 

"Well, yeah. Weren't you?" he questioned the shorter boy.

"After you started talking about them I did. I was more thinking along the lines of just Tai alone. Comparing how he and Matt are living now," Daisuke explained.

"Except for the fact that neither of them are happy right now," Kiseki pointed out.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Daisuke groaned and pushed the door open, allowing Kiseki to step inside the classroom. "Because neither of them are happy, I can't be happy either. It **sucks**." The two boys sat down and waited for Naku to show up, taking out their notebooks and pens.

"Why do you say that?" Kiseki questioned. Daisuke rewarded him with a flat look.

"Come on, think about it? Wouldn't you be irritated if you couldn't have fun too?"

"No, not that. I mean, why can't you be happy? Is there some sort of law that says you can't have a separate life?"

"Well, it's more like…I guess I feel bad for Tai," Daisuke sighed and flicked a stray hair off of his forehead. "Besides, they're both in such shitty moods that it can kill anybody's happy one."

"True," Kiseki commented just as Matt and Toushi stepped into the classroom, followed closely by Sachi and Kyo.

"Why do those two follow your…Toushi all over the place?" Daisuke motioned towards Sachi and Kyo, both of whom were fighting over who got to sit on Toushi's other side, since the desk to his left was occupied by Matt. Kiseki shrugged and shook his head.

"Cause they're dumbasses? I honestly don't know, he's such a jerk to them both. They don't even have this class this period," the magenta-eyed boy retorted. Both boys watched as Toushi ordered his two flunkies to get out of the room and go to their own class. The final bell sounded off and Daisuke saw Tai dart in through the door out of the corner of his eye, getting knocked aside by Sachi and Kyo in their haste to make it to their own class. The older brunet brother brushed them off and took a seat in the far back corner just as Naku entered the classroom, smiling brightly at her class.

"Good morning, boys," she greeted the class cheerfully.

"Morning, Naku," most of the boys replied. She smiled again and reached into her bag she had set on the desk, pulling out a DVD case.

"Now, like I said before, we're going to start the analytical section of this class and we're going to start that by watching a movie." She showed the class the case in her hand and dimmed the lights.

"What movie is it?" Matt asked her, squinting to read the title.

"It's a musical called Chicago that I thought would be perfect for this project. Not to mention, I really like the movie," Naku chuckled to herself while she placed the disc into the DVD player. "Has anybody else seen it before?"

"I have," Tai spoke up from his dark corner, fixating his gaze on the TV screen.

"When?" Daisuke asked without thinking, turning around in his seat to face his brother.

"A while ago, you wouldn't remember." Tai waved it off and focused on Naku again. "So what exactly do you want us to do?"

"Just watch the movie and then we'll just be discussing the plot purposes, the character development, and the themes and stuff. So basically, just enjoy it while you can," Naku replied and hit play, shutting off the rest of the lights completely and making her way back to her desk.

"Since when does your brother like musicals?" Kiseki whispered to Daisuke as the opening scene began to play out.

"I don't know but really, it doesn't surprise me," Daisuke said back just as quietly.

"Why?"

"Despite popular belief, Tai has more talents outside of being a star soccer player. He can also draw, breakdance, act, and play the piano, not to mention he practices kendo, which you saw that first day of P.E." Kiseki gave Daisuke a blank look.

"Your brother acts?"

"Yeah, before he got transferred here, he used to take drama classes and stuff. He hasn't done much acting since then because of where we are, but he's still interested in it." Daisuke glanced behind him, spotting his brother intently watching the picture on the screen as Velma Kelly sang the song entitled "All That Jazz", occasionally mouthing along with the words. His gaze flickered over towards Matt and Toushi, taking notice that the blond boy was paying more attention to Tai rather then the movie in front of him, much to Daisuke's delight.

'_At least we know he doesn't totally hate Tai. That's a plus. Maybe we can make something work after all.'_ A smile wormed its way onto Daisuke's face.

"Your brother plays **piano**?" Kiseki's eyes were on the verge of falling out of their sockets by this point.

"Has for the past six years. Anything else you would like to question me about?" Daisuke shot back, becoming slightly irritated that Kiseki kept asking about his brother.

"No…I'm just surprised, that's all. Seems so unlike him."

"Yeah, that's because he doesn't really share those types of things unless he has to," the mahogany-haired boy replied with a shrug and turned back to the movie.

"Hmm. Next thing you know you're going to be telling me that he can sing or something," Kiseki mumbled and kept his eyes glued to the movie as the scene switched to Roxie Hart's first appearance.

"…well actually…"

"What!"

"Kiseki, is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Naku interrupted, hovering over Kiseki's shoulder and staring down at him.

"No, not really," the black-haired boy said sheepishly, looking away from the movie and up at Naku innocently.

"Then be quiet and pay attention!" Naku scolded him lightly, moving away from his desk and wandering back over towards hers. Kiseki waited until she sat back down in front of her computer and began typing again before he leaned over again.

"He actually sings?" he whispered.

"Uh, yeah. Singing and acting kind of go together in his case. My mom wanted Tai to appear refined and well-rounded so she had him learn to sing, play piano, be on the soccer team, practice kendo, and play baseball. He had an active childhood basically." Daisuke nodded as if to confirm this fact and stifled a yawn.

"Weird…so what can you do?"

"What?" Daisuke blinked at the sudden change of subject.

"What can you do? Can you do all of that?" Kiseki asked.

"Hell no," Daisuke snorted. "Just because I'm related to Tai doesn't mean that I'm exactly like him."

'_Despite what everybody else seems to think.'_ The preteen inwardly rolled his eyes.

"I see. So what can you do?" Kiseki repeated his earlier question.

"Well…I'm not bad at soccer myself. I can swim pretty good, play very limited piano because I gave up trying to learn, master of video games, and that's about it! Oh wait, I'm learning about computers too," Daisuke finished listing things off.

"Wow…so you two are like opposites aren't you?"

"Not really. I mean, yeah, we like different things and all, but we still share interests like soccer and video games. If anybody's opposite from either of us, it's Hikari."

"Who's that?" Kiseki raised an eyebrow.

"Our sister, little Miss Cheerleader-gymnast-dancing queen-photographer."

"…yeah, total opposite. Although are you sure it's not just because she's a girl?"

"That could be it but who knows." Daisuke shrugged and went back to watching the movie. Kiseki took the hint and closed his mouth, focusing his attention on the blonde on the screen. Not for very long of course, but just long enough to annoy Daisuke for interrupting him again.

"What?" Daisuke hissed when Kiseki's fingertips brushed his arm again.

"What do you think she's doing?" the green-banged boy inquired quietly.

"Who?" Daisuke hissed.

"Naku." Kiseki pointed to the front of the room where their teacher was smiling and typing on her computer still.

"How should I know?" Daisuke replied, focusing his attention on his teacher instead of the movie also.

"I don't know! Any speculations? Since you're taking Anthropology too?" Kiseki watched Naku's face change from excited to thoughtful in the light of the monitor.

"You're the psychic, not me," Daisuke pointed out. Kiseki's face faltered slightly, Daisuke's remark catching him off-guard. Just as quickly as he lost control he regained his cool façade.

"Yes, but I can't read minds from that far away!" he protested.

"Well, can't you try anyway?" Daisuke asked, quirking an eyebrow when he noticed that Naku was laughing quietly.

"I suppose…hold on," Kiseki said, staring at Naku intently. His face screwed up into concentration and he nodded slightly.

"Well?" Daisuke looked over at him impatiently.

"Well, if I had to guess what I read into, she's conversing with somebody close to her." Kiseki frowned and looked skyward. "Probably her husband or something," he concluded shortly after.

"I don't know…Naku doesn't really like talking about her husband. Why would she like talking **to **him?" Daisuke questioned.

"I don't know, don't ask me. That's just what I got out of it!" Kiseki exclaimed.

"Kiseki! Stop talking or I'm going to throw you out into the hall!" Naku shouted back, causing all of the boys in the class to jump. Kiseki shrank back into his seat and nodded. Naku went back to her computer and the boys went back to watching the movie. Daisuke decided that the conversation was over and also turned his attention back to the screen, slowly starting to get into the movie. That is, until Kiseki tapped him again.

"For crying out loud, Kiseki, you're going to get in so much trouble!" Daisuke warned his friend.

"I have an idea!" Kiseki announced excitedly in a quiet tone.

"For?"

"How to get your brother and Matt to be friends again."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'll tell you at lunch though because I think Naku will shoot me if I keep talking," Kiseki explained, motioning towards the blonde woman at her desk who was once again typing. Daisuke nodded in agreement and both boys went quiet again, Kiseki watching the movie and Daisuke watching everything else. He glanced back at Tai and Matt and wasn't surprised by what he saw; Tai watching the movie and Matt watching Tai.

Maybe it would be easier to get them back together then he thought.

* * *

"Okay, so what's your genius plan?" Daisuke pounced on Kiseki as soon as the black-haired boy sat across from him at lunch. 

"Well, here's what I came up with," Kiseki started out and pulled a square of paper from his pocket, sliding it across the table into Daisuke's hand while he began to eat. Daisuke unfolded the paper and read it over.

"I don't get it. All it says is my name," he pointed out. Kiseki nodded and took the paper back.

"Exactly. You're the key to getting them to be friends again."

"How? Explain this to me." Daisuke slurped up some of his soup.

"All right, so here's how I figure it. You're caught in the middle of this whole thing right?"

"I suppose so…"

"So, that's what you tell them. Say that you're tired of being in the middle and that you know that they don't hate each other and-"

"That's not going to work," Daisuke protested suddenly.

"Why not?" Kiseki inquired. Daisuke swallowed the mouthful of bread in his mouth and coughed.

"Because Tai will, first of all, say that it's none of my business. Then he'll say that I'm not in the middle to begin with. As for Matt, he'll just blow it off because he's got your foster brother drilling crap into his head," the brown-eyed boy confirmed.

"All right, what if we got Toushi out of the way?" Kiseki suggested.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"…well I didn't get that far."

"That's just great," Daisuke groaned. He took a drink of his soda and sighed. "So we have a five foot eleven inch brunet roadblock in our way."

"Precisely. So now what we need to focus on is getting him **out **of our way," Kiseki said as he chewed on a piece of squid thoughtfully.

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that."

"When you've lived with Toushi for six years, you come to learn his weaknesses and such," Kiseki commented and licked his lips.

"…he actually has weaknesses?"

"Everybody has weaknesses, Daisuke. Anybody who has a soul has at least one and as much as I don't like to admit it, Toushi has a soul."

"Okay, so what is his weakness?"

"Lack of power," Kiseki answered as if it were the most obvious answer.

"…what?"

"Basically, if Toushi's not in control of something, he flips out." Kiseki nodded towards a table across the dining hall. Daisuke turned his head and looked in the direction Kiseki indicated where he saw Toushi standing up and shouting at Sachi, who had clearly said something he didn't like since he was glaring defiantly up at the other boy.

"Okay so now that we know that, how do we use that to our advantage?" Daisuke questioned the older boy. Kiseki paused to think, chopsticks hovering over his lips and staring blankly off into space. Daisuke waited patiently as he watched Kiseki's eyes narrow in concentration, the piece of squid between his chopsticks threatening to fall back onto his plate. Finally after what seemed to be an eternity, Kiseki sighed and shook his head.

"I've got nothing," he informed Daisuke and popped the squid into his mouth.

"Well that helps us a lot!" Daisuke exclaimed. Kiseki swallowed and drained his glass of water before answering the other boy.

"Give me a week. I will definitely have a plan by then," he assured Daisuke as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period.

"And if you don't?" Daisuke challenged him.

"Then…I don't know, but I don't need to worry about that because I know I will have a plan by then." Kiseki's speech was cut short by the sound of a crash behind them. Both boys whipped their heads around to be greeted with the sight of Sachi on the ground, Toushi still yelling, Kyo snickering behind his hand, and Matt rolling his eyes.

"Actually…you better give me two weeks," Kiseki said and Daisuke nodded in agreement. Both boys picked up their bags and headed out into the main hallway, splitting off into their own separate ways to get to class.

* * *

Daisuke sighed as he dragged his feet up the stairs. It was 9:30 in the evening and he was dead-tired, having spent most of the evening in the library studying and doing his homework. He continued hauling his body down the hallway, finally arriving at the doorway of his own room. Pulling a key out of his pocket, he jammed it into the lock and turned, causing the door to swing open. Taking the key back out, Daisuke stepped into the room and dropped his bag on the floor with a thud. Slowly walking over to the dresser, he opened the middle drawer and pulled out his grey and black pajama bottoms. 

'_Shower good, then bed better…yes…'_ He moved over towards the bathroom door and prepared to open it when the sound of shower water running and a tenor voice singing reached his senses. Pressing an ear to the door, his eyes widened when he realized Tai was singing. Tai was **singing** in the **shower**!

"Give 'em the old razzle dazzle, Razzle Dazzle 'em. Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it, and the reaction will be passionate. Give 'em the old hocus pocus, bead and feather 'em, how can they see with sequins in their eyes? What if your hinges all are rusting? What if, in fact, you're just disgusting? Razzle Dazzle 'em, and they'll never catch wise!" Daisuke stared bug-eyed at the door just as the shower water shut off. Tai continued his song even after the additional sound was gone and opened the door, sending Daisuke toppling forward. Tai abruptly stopped singing and looked down at his brother who was on his foot.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked, shaking the younger boy off of him. Daisuke picked himself up off of the ground and dusted himself off.

"I wanted to shower but you were in there. Did you use all of the hot water?"

Tai gave his brother a skeptical look. "No. But wait, you wanted to shower so you decided to keep an ear to the door?"

"What were you singing?" Daisuke changed the subject with a wary smile.

"Razzle Dazzle. It's from Chicago but we haven't gotten that far into the movie yet," Tai explained and rubbed his hair dry.

"Oh…you seem to be in a good mood tonight," Daisuke commented, watching as his older brother threw the towel on the couch and flopped down on his bed.

"I am," Tai replied smugly.

"Why?"

"Just because," Tai said in an airy tone. "Weren't you going to shower?"

"Yes."

"Then go." A tanned hand waved Daisuke off. The younger boy shrugged and shut the door to the bathroom, stripping down and stepping into the shower. After a short scrub-down and rinse of his hair, he hopped out and dried off quickly, rushing back out into the main room in hopes that Tai would still be awake enough to answer his questions. But alas, the older brunet was already asleep by the time he got out there. With a defeated sigh, Daisuke grabbed Tai's laptop from the bedside and turned it on. He typed in the address for his email account and opened it, cheering inwardly that he had a new message. He opened it and began to read.

**From: Hikari **

**Sent: Monday, February 2, 2004 7:39pm**

**To: ****Daisuke**

**Subject: Taito Project**

_Hey Dais,_

_What's going on over there? Anything good? Are they talking to each other at least? It's been a whole month! It's _**bad**_! Tai said in his last email that he misses Matt so much…I asked Mimi and Sora what to do and neither of them have any answers. Oh man, tell me you have some plan. I don't know about you, but I'm_** not**_ letting Tai get hurt again like Haru hurt him. It's the same story all over again. Funny thing is, Tai's not even mad at Matt. He just misses him a lot. I was hoping maybe you knew something I didn't? Send me a reply if you get _**some**_ clue._

_Other than that, life here is good. I can't wait for you guys to get home. And yes, I am still mad at Takeru, how did you guess? Although I'm actually talking to him now, right now in fact on MSN. Maybe if we prove that his brother is homosexual his homophobic-ness will go down. Ya think? Ah well…_

_Hey, what's going on between you and Mimi? She never did tell me and well…I kind of have something I need to tell you, but I want your opinion on what's going on first._

_Anyway, Mom says dinner's ready so I gotta go. Write me back lil bro, luv ya!_

_-Kari_

Daisuke nodded to himself and selected the reply button, stretching out on his bed and beginning his reply to Kari.

**From: Daisuke **

**Sent: Monday, February 2, 2004 10:19pm**

**To: Hikari **

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_Hey Hika, _

_No, nothing really good has happened over here except I've been observing a few little things. Mostly, Matt's still watching Tai. Like, we were in class today and I saw him watching Tai rather then the movie in front of us. Maybe it's just me? I don't know, but I don't have a plan but I made a new friend today and he's going to come up with a plan. And I know what you mean, I don't want Tai getting hurt again either but I don't think that'll happen. If you could see the look on his face, you'd know that there was something still there, on Matt's face I mean. I totally know what you mean about Tai not being mad, you can see it on his face. I think over this past month, they both started to realize how much they miss the other and are trying to put aside their differences…or Tai is at least. _

_Glad things are good at home and I can't wait to be home either. I miss you and Mom (but what else is new right?) As for knowing that you were still mad at TK, I could kinda guess just by the way you were typing about him. Big give away? You keep calling him Takeru. Anyway, maybe you're right, he loves Matt so much, he might actually change his mind (after all, we accepted Tai's bi-ness because we love him enough)._

_As for me and Mimi? Nothing, why do you ask? I kinda just realized that things will never work out between us, even though I still kinda like her. What do you know that I don't know? _

_Anyway, I'm goin to bed. Night sis, see ya later, write back and stuff._

_-Dais_

_P.S Do you know why Tai's in a good mood all of a sudden? Cause I sure as hell don't know._

The youngest Yagami-Motomiya sibling selected the send option and closed the laptop, carrying it back over to the desk and setting it on top. He crawled back into bed and reached above him, turning off the light and plunging the room into darkness, anxiously awaiting Kari's reply.

**

* * *

**

From: Hikari

Sent: Friday, February 6, 2004 5:43pm

**To: Daisuke**

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_Well then if that's true, then why the hell is he avoiding him? Dumbass, both of them actually because Tai's not helping that much either, although if what you say is true (about them possibly starting to try and push aside their differences), then we might have a happy ending after all. Anyway, you have a new friend huh? Do you really think he can help? I hope so, for all our sakes._

_I'm not as mad at Takes as I was. He made up for it because he said that Matt's being a jerk for avoiding Tai just because he's bi. Granted, I'm still annoyed because he believes homosexuality is wrong but whatever, that's not the issue here. The issue is how to get them together…if they got together…TK would be over his homophobic issues (we hope)._

_Ah…I'm glad you realize things won't work between you and Meems. And I ask because…well, she's got a new boyfriend. You remember Tai's friend Koushiro? Yeah…she hooked up with him. Long story short, her parents wanted somebody to help her study for finals and they found Kou…and well, yeah. Sorry Dai, hope the news doesn't hit you too hard, I know you've liked Mimi for a while now._

_I'm gonna go hit the shower, I just got home from cheer practice. A lot of us are preparing for the high school squad's tryouts. So I'll talk to you later!_

_-Kari_

_P.S: No I have no idea why Tai's happy. Maybe he knows something that we don't?_

**

* * *

**

From: Daisuke

Sent: Monday, February 9, 2004 8:24pm

**To: Hikari**

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_Okay so Kiseki (my new friend) has until this Friday to come up with a plan. We figured out what's stopping those two from being friends and stuff but now we just need to figure out how to get around that. That's the hard part, really._

_Glad you're not mad at TK as much anymore. You guys make a good couple…I think? I don't know?_

_As for Mimi dating Koushiro, I admit I'm not totally happy about it, but I'm willing to accept it. I wouldn't want to hold her back. After all, Koushiro's closer to her age, isn't he? _

_Hopefully Kiseki and I can come up with a plan by Friday…that was our agreement after all. But I'm out, see ya Kar._

_-Dais_

_P.S I don't know what Tai knows, but he's definitely a lot perkier then before._

**

* * *

**

From: Hikari

Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 6:57pm

**To: Daisuke **

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_Good luck with that. Let me know how it goes._

_-Kari_

_P.S: I have an idea that it's because he's thinking more optimistically about Matt. You know how Tai is when he's in love with somebody…he just won't let go._

* * *

Friday morning, the air was filled with the buzz of excitement. The next day was Valentine's Day and a Saturday at that. That meant one thing for the boys of Odaiba Academy: the girls from Yasashi High, the all-girl prep school, would be milling around the town that separated them from the Odaiba boys. The mere idea of female contact was enough to send the boys into a flurry of preparations. 

Well, all except for four boys, that is.

"So, tomorrow is Valentine's Day," Kiseki said as they walked out of Naku's classroom, songs from Chicago running through their brains.

"Yep," Daisuke replied, less than enthusiastic.

"Why so down then?" Kiseki ran a hand through his black hair, flicking his long green bangs out of his eyes.

"You don't have a plan, do you?" the cinnamon-eyed boy asked woefully. Kiseki's face fell and he sighed.

"Well no. I'm sorry, Daisuke, I couldn't think of a single idea," he apologized. Daisuke opened his mouth to respond when he was cut off by a loud thud. Both boys turned around and spotted Tai pinned to a wall, Toushi standing in front of him with both hands on either side of Tai and looking a little more than angry.

"What, too chicken to fight back?" Toushi shouted, irritated by the fact that Tai still wore a smug grin.

"No, never. I just feel that I don't need to lower my level of intellect trying to come up with insults you'll understand," the brunet retorted casually.

"Are you calling me stupid?" Toushi narrowed his eyes, ignoring the fact that people were stopping to stare, including Matt who was right behind him.

"Something like that." Tai grinned again. "Anyway, you can let me go at any time now, I think we should both get to class." Toushi continued to stare at Tai menacingly, refusing to let the brunet go or drop his guard.

"No? Okay then, that's not my problem," Tai said and leaned forward, promptly planting a kiss onto Toushi's lips, a sloppy one at that. Toushi's green eyes widened in alarm and he pulled away from the wall and Tai, sputtering and gagging all the while.

"What the hell, Yagami?" he choked out, staring at Tai in horror. Tai quickly feigned horror himself, pressing both hands to his cheeks and forming his mouth into an 'oh!' of surprise.

"Oh my gosh, Toushi! Now my faggot-ness is going to rub off on you!" he exclaimed. He quickly droppedthe act, along with his hands, and pushed himself away from the wall, staring into Toushi's eyes defiantly. "Get real." He turned on his heel and started to walk away. Toushi growled under his breath and ran forward.

"Nobody walks away from me!" he roared and hauled back, sending his fist flying at a speed that would have surely knocked Tai unconscious if Daisuke had not stepped in, stopping Toushi's fist on impact with his own hand.

"Don't even **think** about touching my brother," the younger boy said darkly.

'_Ow, that really hurt.'_ Daisuke inwardly winced at the stinging sensation that was running through his hand. Tai whirled around to catch sight of his younger brother staring up into the face of Toushi, who towered over him by at least a good seven inches, not to mention the fact that Toushi was almost three and a half years older then Daisuke. An amused look crossed the older boy's features and he lowered his fist, staring right back down at Daisuke.

"And just what are you gonna do about it, Shortstuff?" he sneered, a smirk curving his lips slightly.

"Kick your ass, what does it look like?" Daisuke responded, clenching his fists at his sides. Toushi snorted and rolled his eyes.

"You think so huh?" he asked rhetorically, but Daisuke nodded anyway. "Fine." Toushi threw his bag to the side and tossed off his blazer and tie, standing in front of Daisuke wearing only his white button-up shirt. Daisuke did the same and handed everything to Kiseki, who had moved up behind him.

"Daisuke!" Tai hissed. "What the hell are you doing?" Daisuke turned to face his brother and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm sick of people picking on you for everything," he simply said and turned back to Toushi. "Let's go."

"With pleasure," Toushi replied and cracked the knuckles on his left hand. Tai buried his face in his hands and groaned.

"Man, he's totally going to get slaughtered!" he pointed out and peered between his fingers.

"So why don't you stop him?" Kiseki's voice hovered over his head. Tai looked up and removed his hands.

"You obviously don't know my brother very well. When he gets an idea in his head, there's no trying to convince him otherwise. He's just stubborn like that," Tai explained. Kiseki merely nodded and meandered over to Matt, who was leaning on the other wall holding Toushi's things.

"So…what do you think?" the black-haired boy began, idly making conversation.

"Truly?" Matt asked, watching as Daisuke put himself into a fighting stance.

"Yep."

"Daisuke's gonna clobber Toushi."

Kiseki nodded in agreement before it registered just what Matt was saying. "What!"

Matt shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head towards the tan boy. "He looks ready to murder Toushi with his bare hands and if he's not careful, I'm willing to bet that Daisuke will do just that," the blond explained. Kiseki's eyebrows shot into his hairline and a small grin wormed its way onto his face.

"Is that so…how much are you willing to bet?" he questioned. Matt turned to look at the younger boy, confusion etched into his American features.

"What?"

"How much are you willing to bet that Daisuke will win this fight?" Kiseki repeated, the wheels turning inside his head at a rapid pace.

"I don't know…" Matt trailed off, not liking the psychotic look that had inhabited Kiseki's eyes. Kiseki licked his lips and grinned again.

"How about this? I'll make you a deal; if Daisuke wins, you can do whatever you want to me. But if Daisuke doesn't win, you have to do what I say, when I say, how I say, no questions asked. Deal?" he questioned and held out his hand. Matt stared at the pale hand, contemplating his options. With a curt nod, he grabbed Kiseki's hand and shook it firmly.

"Deal."

"C'mon Motomiya, stop being a pussy and hit me!" Toushi shouted. Daisuke remained planted in his spot, thinking of a way he could avoid physical contact all together.

'_Me and my big mouth. It just _**had**_ to get me in trouble, didn't it?'_ He inwardly sighed and bit his lip.

"What, are you too much of a fag to fight me too? Guess you and your brother really are so much alike." Daisuke snapped his head up at the comment.

"Leave my brother's sexuality out of this. This is between you and me," Daisuke growled and leapt forward, landing a punch to Toushi's gut. Toushi stumbled backwards, quickly regaining his balance and tackling Daisuke to the floor. Punches were thrown back and forward, none ever making contact.

"C'mon, Daisuke, do something!" Kiseki shouted from above the pair on the ground. Toushi threw a sour glance at his foster brother, driving his knee into Daisuke's stomach. The younger fighter gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. Toushi took this opportunity to punch him square in the jaw, satisfied with the crack that came with it.

"Daisuke, get up!" Matt and Tai yelled simultaneously. Daisuke grunted and kicked Toushi in the chest with both feet, sending the older boy flying backwards. Daisuke took the chance to roll away and staggered to his feet, hauling back and punching Toushi's left eye.

"Yeah!" Matt cheered, his mind on the bet with Kiseki.

"Come on, Dais, don't give up!" Tai encouraged the younger boy, proud that he was still trying to gain the upper hand. Victory was short-lived however as Toushi came back and kicked Daisuke in the groin.

"Yeah, go Toushi!" Sachi and Kyo cheered faithfully in the background as Daisuke gasped sharply, doubling over and falling to the floor once more. A red flush flooded his face and his eyes filled with tears as he curled up into a fetal position.

"Cheap shot!" A voice rang out from the crowd around them. Tai's eyes lingered on the form of his pained little brother, who was now curled up tighter and crying softly.

"That's it!" Tai dropped everything in his hands and jumped in front of Toushi, punching him in the nose. He smiled widely when he heard Toushi moan in agony. "That's for being a sleezeball!" He punched the older boy in the gut, bringing him to his knees. "That's for my brother!" He delivered one final kick at Toushi's groin, once again satisfied by the loud moan of pain. "And that's for me!" He nodded an affirmative and rushed over to his little brother, leaving Toushi on the floor for his cronies to pick up.

"Daisuke, are you okay?" Tai blurted out before he even reached Daisuke's side, sliding across the floor and kneeling down by his brother. Daisuke looked up with tears still coursing down his face and a harsh look of disapproval. Much to the surprise of everyone, he reached out and punched Tai in the cheek, knocking his brother flat on his rear.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?" Tai hollered, his hand instinctively flying up to his cheek.

"Don't think that I can't take care of myself, Tai! Cause I can, damnit!" Daisuke shouted back, sitting up suddenly.

"Well shit, calm down! I never said that you couldn't take care of yourself," Tai retorted. With a throaty growl, Daisuke lunged at his brother and landed on top of him, throwing his fists at Tai's chest.

"You always think you know what's best and you don't and you always treat me like a freakin' little kid!" Daisuke cried as he continued assaulting his older brother. Tai kicked at him and attempted to push him off, only using half of his strength because he didn't want to hurt Daisuke.

"You know, for somebody who just got kicked in the balls, you bounced back quickly," he commented dryly just as another fist collided with one of his ribs.

"Just shut the hell up, Tai! You don't know anything! I don't need your damn protection!" Daisuke continued to scream, landing one more punch on Tai's face.

"What in the world is going on here?" A loud voice boomed into the conversation, causing all five of the boys (Toushi and his lackeys were still there trying to get Toushi to stand up). All heads turned and spotted the Headmaster standing behind them, arms crossed in front of his chest and staring down at the boys in disapproval.

"We're in deep trouble aren't we…?" Tai whistled lowly.

"Indeed you are, Mr. Yagami. Indeed you are." The older man nodded and marched Daisuke, Tai, and Toushi to his office. Away from them, both Matt and Kiseki were watching the scene in front of them quietly. That is, until Kiseki spoke.

"So I guess that means I won the bet," he said, sneaking a peek at Matt through the corner of his eye.

"Toushi didn't win though, Tai did," Matt argued.

"Ah, see, that's where I prove you wrong. I never said that it had to be **Toushi** who won the fight. I just said it wasn't going to be Daisuke." Kiseki smirked triumphantly.

"Oh damn…" Matt groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry man, you totally lose," Kiseki laughed in his face and walked away.

"Great. Just great," Matt sighed and rolled his eyes, walking down the hall to his next class.

* * *

"So what happened?" Kiseki asked immediately upon seeing Daisuke. 

"Me and Tai got detention for a week for fighting and Toushi got two weeks for fighting and harassing us," Daisuke replied as he sat down next to his friend at the lunch table.

"You guys got off pretty easy," Kiseki mentioned and took a bite of his sandwich. Daisuke shrugged and gingerly ran his fingers along his bruised jaw.

"It helps that Tai's best friends with the Headmaster's daughter you know."

"True…hey guess what?" Kiseki changed the subject, eyes dancing in delight.

"What?" Daisuke asked, too tired to even try to guess what his friend was thinking.

"Not only did you take care of step one in our plan, I figured out step two!" Kiseki beamed proudly. Daisuke sat up, staring at Kiseki alertly.

"Meaning what exactly?" he questioned cautiously. Kiseki took another bite of his sandwich and swallowed it down with some water before continuing.

"Think about it. We first had to get Toushi out of the way; we've pretty much done that." Daisuke gave him a flat look. "All right, so you and Tai pretty much did that. Now, I have a plan to get Matt to do what I want him to. Don't worry, it'll be good!"

"What's your plan?" Daisuke asked, highly curious now.

"Ah, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see," Kiseki winked. "Oh, by the way, Matt's not friends with Toushi anymore."

"What? Why?" Daisuke's eyes widened.

"…that's a good thing."

"I know, but I still would like to know why."

"Because, he said he wasn't going to be friends with somebody who hurt his friends. He still considers you and Tai his friends! This makes our job so much easier!" Kiseki was nearly bursting with excitement.

"Wow…where is he now?" Daisuke asked, scanning around the area for any sign of blond hair.

"I'm not sure, I think he's in the library or something but anyway, when's your birthday?" Kiseki changed the subject yet again.

"Exactly a week from tomorrow," Daisuke answered warily.

"Good."

"Why?"

"You'll see…trust me on this one." Kiseki got up from the table and threw away his trash, grabbing his book bag from under the bench. "I'm skipping afternoon classes, I have a lot of things to do in preparation for tomorrow," he explained.

"What exactly are you doing?" Daisuke questioned once again.

"You'll see in good time," Kiseki also repeated himself and waved, turning on his heel and walking away. Daisuke sighed and the bell rang, signaling for everybody to go to class.

"Great, I spent most of lunch in the Headmaster's office and I didn't even get to eat!" he whined and got up, following the rest of the boys out of the dining hall.

**

* * *

From: Daisuke**

Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 9:14pm

**To: Hikari **

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_Hika guess what! _

_I totally kicked some guy's ass! _

…

_Okay so I didn't, but I landed some good punches before Tai stepped in (jerk.) Anyway, Kiseki says it was a good step because it got Toushi to back off. Toushi being a Takeru 100 times worse. So now Matt broke off that friendship and apparently Kiseki has some genius plan for sometime to use for this whole thing…_

_He's psychic, maybe he knows something we don't. Anyway, just thought I'd fill you in…I'll probably send you an email tomorrow telling you how our V-day went. Hope you and TK and Mimi have a good one! _

_-Dais_

* * *

A knock pounded on Matt's door late that night. Matt had already been asleep by that point and had no intentions of waking up anytime soon. However, the knocker had other ideas, continuing to pound on the door louder and louder. 

"All right, I'm awake, just shut up!" Matt yelled and got out of bed, kicking the sheets away and stumbling to the door. Unlocking it and cursing the person on the other side, he threw it open and glared into a pair of magenta eyes.

"Hiya!" Kiseki chirped.

"What the hell do you want? It's 11:45 at night," Matt said through a yawn, flipping on the light switch next to the door.

"I wanted to drop off your props and the first part of your punishment for losing the bet!" Kiseki continued smiling as he thrusted a paper sack into Matt's hand. Cautiously, the blond opened the bag and peered at its contents.

"Oh no way!" he instantly objected, throwing the bag across the room.

"Yes way, you have to do what I say, remember?" Kiseki chirped happily.

"…damnit all. Damn stupid bets," Matt continued grumbling to himself. Kiseki merely chuckled.

"I assume you know how to put on all of that?" he nodded forward, indicating the paper bag that was on the floor now.

"Yes, and if not, I'm sure I'll figure it out," Matt sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. "Can you go away now, I'm really tired."

"I will when I explain what you have to do." Kiseki leaned forward and began to whisper into Matt's ear, holding back his laughter as blue eyes widened.

"No!" Matt said as soon as Kiseki finished explaining his plan.

"You have to do what I say, remember? Besides, this is only the first part," Kiseki reminded him and walked out the door. "See you tomorrow bright and early!" he called over his shoulder. Matt stared blankly at the 14-year-old's retreating form before slamming the door shut.

"Freakin' kid…" he muttered and shut off the light, crawling in to bed. After all, he had to brace himself for what would come tomorrow.

* * *

"Happy Valentine's Day, Tai!" Daisuke said to his brother, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. Tai's eyes shot wide open and he sat up quickly. 

"Gross!" he hollered, swatting his arms at Daisuke. The younger brother merely laughed and held up a wet sponge that he had pressed against Tai's face.

"Like I would really kiss you," he said and threw the sponge into the bathroom.

"Well you never know." Tai shrugged and yawned, scratching his chest and stretching his legs. "What time is it?"

"9:30 in the AM," Daisuke replied. "I told Kiseki that we would meet him down in the front hall and go walk into town like everybody else." Tai blinked at the plan and gave his brother a skeptical look.

"If you wanna go with Kiseki, that's fine. Don't feel like you're obligated to bring me with you." He rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm not. Kiseki said he wanted to bring you along."

"Why?"

"That's what I said too!"

"Gee, thanks."

"No I mean…er, oh just get dressed, we're suppose to meet him down there at ten!" Daisuke gave up trying to explain, leaving Tai confused and groggy.

"Uh…okay? So much for you being mad at me…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. He threw the blankets to the floor and crawled out of bed, dragging himself into the bathroom to wash up. Daisuke sat on the couch and waited patiently. Moments later, Tai came out wearing tan cargo pants and a black t-shirt.

"So, are we ready to go?" he questioned his younger brother, tying up his shoelaces and slipping on his dark red windbreaker.

"Well I am if you are," Daisuke replied and hopped off of the couch.

"All right, lead the way little brother of mine," Tai said and motioned for the door. Daisuke grumbled something that sounded oddly like, "I'm not little," and kicked the door open, leading the way down the stairs. At the bottom sat Kiseki, calmly watching everybody else burst through the large doors.

"Hey 'Seki!" Daisuke greeted his friend. Magenta eyes looked up and a smile brightened Kiseki's otherwise gloomy features.

"Hey guys," he returned the greeting and rose to his feet. Tai raised a hand and waved before tucking his hands into his pocket.'

"So are we ready to go?" Daisuke asked. Kiseki shook his head, causing his green hair to swing back and forward across his face.

"Nope, we still have to wait for a friend," he said with a sly grin.

"Who else is going with us?" Tai asked as he looked around the hall for any signs of people joining them.

"You'll see him soon enough," Kiseki responded airily and looked at the watch on his right wrist. He peered down the hall and his eyes lit up suddenly.

"Ah, there you are!" he announced and ran forward into the shadowed area of the hall that the sun didn't reach.

"Ow, Kiseki, you have a tight grip!" a male voice protested. Tai instantly froze and Daisuke instantly understood.

"Oh stop being such a baby!" Kiseki laughed and threw the other boy out into the light. Yamato stumbled along the carpet and regained his balance, readjusting the belt around his waist that was too big. Both Yagami-Motomiya siblings' eyes went wide and had to bite the inside of their cheeks to keep from laughing out loud at the spectacle before them.

"Um, hi Matt," Tai said with a snicker. The blond boy glared at his former best friend, rearranging the black kitty ears on his head. He stood before them wearing a plain white long-sleeved dress shirt, plain black pants and a black cat collar along with the cat ears. A silver bell was attached to the collar and it jingled every time Matt moved his head, causing Tai to snicker even more.

"Are you wearing make-up?" Daisuke didn't bother to hide his laughter. Indeed the American boy was wearing make-up; mascara, black eyeliner, and grey eye shadow to be exact. Dull lip gloss was painted over his lips and a light dusting of blush was on his cheeks.

"Shut. Up," Matt grounded out through gritted teeth. Kiseki beamed proudly.

"Well, let's go!" he chirped and marched out the door, Daisuke in tow and leaving the two older boys in their wake. Daisuke looked over his shoulder to see if he was far enough away from his brother and Matt the Cat before leaning over and whispering to Kiseki.

"Okay, what the hell did you do?"

"Whatever do you mean, Daisuke?" Kiseki asked innocently, looking at Daisuke through his bangs. Daisuke made an odd noise in the back of his throat and motioned back towards Matt, who was trudging along behind them followed by Tai.

"Why is Matt a cat?"

"He lost a bet," Kiseki simply said and didn't say anymore. Daisuke shook his head and rolled his eyes, suddenly realizing what Kiseki's big plan was.

'_I don't know who to feel sorrier for, Tai or Matt.'_ the mahogany-haired boy ignored his stray thoughts and came back to reality, listening to Kiseki babble about some sweets shop in the town.

Meanwhile behind them, Matt had slowed his pace down just a tiny bit and Tai had quickened his, coming up to his left side.

"Hey," he said softly. Matt's eyes flickered over to his old best friend, observing him lightly.

"Hi," he replied just as quietly. He ran a hand over one of his kitty ears, fixing it so that it would stand up again. The two walked along in silence behind their younger companions, neither one wanting to be the first to say anything.

"Hey you guys, me and Kiseki are gonna go in here for a few minutes!" Daisuke broke their tense silence and pointed at the large shop filled with boys from the academy, candy of all shapes and sizes displayed in the windows.

"Okay, we'll wait out here," Tai assured his brother and waved him away, leaning against the wall of the shop. Kiseki and Daisuke darted into the shop, leaving Matt and Tai on their own. The silence came back, keeping both boys uneasy and nervous. Tai took a deep breath and looked down at Matt, who had chosen to sit down on the bench next to him.

"So…why are you a cat?" he asked with a small smile, hoping that Matt wasn't going to bite his head off suddenly.

"It's all stupid Kiseki's fault," the blue-eyed boy muttered and folded his arms over his chest as people walked past the boys, girls cooing over how adorable Matt looked and the boys from the academy glaring at him for holding their girls' attention.

"How so?"

"I lost a bet," Matt sighed. "It's your fault you know," he added as an afterthought.

"How do ya figure?" Tai asked, not really caring what Matt's reasoning was. After all, the blond was actually **talking** to him. That was a reason in itself to be overjoyed.

"You stepped in and made Daisuke lose the fight yesterday." Tai blinked owlishly at the American on the bench.

"Wait, what the hell do you mean I made Daisuke lose? Daisuke was gonna get pounded to a pulp if Toushi decided to attack him while he was down! Besides, you should blame Toushi, not me," Tai argued his point.

"Whatever, the point is, Kiseki and I had a deal that if Daisuke lost the fight I would do anything he said…and well, this is what he said," Matt finished telling his tale of woe and pointed at the make-up, collar, and kitty ears. More girls walked past him and giggled, whispering to their friends and pointing at him. "**Yes! **I'm a cat, get over it!" Matt shouted angrily, his glare looking less-then-threatening when teamed with a pout. Tai stifled a giggle of his own and motioned to the bench.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked. Matt stared up at him for a few moments, amazed beyond belief.

'_Even after I treated him like major crap for the past month, he still is trying to be my friend. Or at least be totally civil…unlike me who didn't even want to reason. Oh Tai…'_ He shook his head fiercely to clear it and scooted over.

"Go for it," he said to the brunet that was currently towering over him. Tai gave him a wide grin in return and plopped down next to him, leaning against the back of the bench.

"So anyway, how ya been this past month? Haven't seen ya around much lately," Tai said in attempt to strike up another conversation.

'_I've been having a normal life while he's been suffering…all because of me. I can't believe I'm so _**stupid**_! But then again, it's not like my life's been perfect. Half of my time is spent missing him and the other half is spent beating myself up.' _Matt swallowed deeply and nodded.

"I-I've been good…" he lied through his teeth, guilt washing over him like an ocean's wave. Tai nodded and looked at the sky.

"Yeah, I've been all right too," he replied. "Kinda been lonely, but ya know, it's not that bad," he continued, catching Matt's eye slightly. "Gives me time to think about things."

"Like what?" Matt questioned, cringing at how his voice was shaking and suddenly becoming aware of the sour feeling in the pit of his stomach that came every time Tai looked him directly in the eye. The other boy shrugged nonchalantly and looked back at the sky instead.

"I don't know…just little things ya know? You…me..." He looked back down and caught Matt's eye again, leaning in closer until their noses were almost touching. "Us," he breathed out, causing Matt to shudder.

'_Spearmint. His breath smells like spearmint.'_ Matt idly thought in a vain attempt to stay calm under Tai's gaze. The sour feeling came back twice as worse and he suddenly felt like he wanted to cry, wanted to shout, wanted to do anything to get Tai to stop being so forgiving, so understanding, so…

'_Tai.'_

"Hey guys, we're ready to go!" Both of the older boys were startled out of their own little world, pulling away from each other instantly. Daisuke and Kiseki came out of the shop, each holding a bag of treats in their hands.

"What'd you guys find?" Tai inquired, peering into his brother's bag.

"Lots of junk," Kiseki answered around a mouthful of gummy worms. Daisuke nodded an affirmative and held out a marshmallow to Matt.

"Want one?" Matt shook his head. Daisuke shrugged and shoved it into his own mouth. "Anyway, we're ready to go back now," he informed the older boys.

"Well, that's nice. You three go ahead," Tai said and began walking down the street.

"Where are you going?" Three voices chorused simultaneously. Tai turned around and grinned.

"I just have a few things I want to look for. Go on without me," he insisted and began to walk again. Matt stared at the retreating back of his former comrade, throat closing up and eyes slipping out of focus.

'_I can't believe I pushed him away. All because of something stupid like a reputation. Kiseki was right all along…Tai's opinion is all that matters. I want him back…I want him back with me.'_ He looked over at Kiseki and Daisuke, both of whom were oblivious to anything other than their chocolate malt balls.

'_No. It's not just that. I can't continue living life this way, it's miserable! I need a best friend. I need a confidant. I need a rival. I need a roommate. I need a partner-in-crime. I need a better half.'_ He shook his head again and closed his eyes.

'_I need Taichi.'_ Matt lifted his head and opened his eyes, but by the time he was ready to call out to Tai, the mass of brown hair was gone.

"Hey Matt, are you okay?" Kiseki's voice rang in his ears, but he paid no heed to the words the other boy was saying. He turned away from the direction Tai had gone and motioned for the other two to follow him.

"Come on guys, let's follow Tai's orders and head back," he said monotonously and began to march back towards the school at a rapid pace. The two younger boys exchanged worried glances and quickly closed their bags of candy, racing to catch up with the blonde. Matt didn't even notice that he had two additional shadows following him all the way back to the school building. He wasn't even taking notice of where he was going; he just allowed his feet to take him wherever they pleased. The only thing he took notice of was the hollow feeling in his chest and his own thoughts echoing in his mind.

'_I never thought I would miss him this much. I haven't even known Tai that long, only since October I believe and now I'm ready to die without him? How pathetic is that? But I've done a lot of soul-searching this past month without him…I never did find my soul. I'm just now realizing why too. Tai is my soul…he really does make me complete and I can only pray that he knows that because, fuck, I miss Tai. But like he'll even take me back after all that I put him through. After all, what can I say? That I was scared? Yeah right. I'm still scared…but this time? This time I'm scared that he won't want me back.' _Self-doubt continued to fill the boy's head and his heart felt heavy as he walked up the steps into the school, discarding all of the weird looks he was getting for being dressed as a cat and ignoring the burning behind his eyes.

* * *

An urgent knock played out on Daisuke's door, causing the young boy to jump a mile and choke on his jawbreaker. He clambered to his feet and padded over towards the door, unlocking it and opening it cautiously. 

"Daisuke!"

A smile of relief flooded onto the tanned face. "Matt, it's just you," he stated. Matt nodded and looked around the room.

"Where's your brother? I really need to talk to him," Matt said, frowning as he noticed the older boy wasn't in the room.

"He's not here, obviously," Daisuke pointed out.

"Damnit," Matt swore under his breath, curling his hands into fists. With a defeated sigh, he turned around and his shoulders slumped. "Can you let him know I stopped by?" he asked and didn't bother to wait for an answer before he started to walk away.

"Hey, just because he's not here doesn't mean I can't tell you where to find him," Daisuke called after him. Matt stopped in his tracks.

"Can you really?" Daisuke nodded avidly. He hated to see Matt so depressed.

'_Besides, this could be another step closer to their reconcile.'_ The Japanese boy convinced himself and pointed down the hall.

"He's in the music room up the stairs, on the third floor. It's the biggest room on that floor, you can't miss it," Daisuke insisted. Matt nodded slowly and tugged at his cat collar, the bell jingling merrily.

"Right, thanks," he said to the younger boy and practically ran down the hall, anxious to find Tai. He bounded up the stairs three at a time, nearly tripping and falling at the top. He reached the third floor in record time and stopped in the middle of the hall, looking around for any sign of where to go.

'_Think, Yamato. If it's a music room, don't you think you'd hear music?'_ he chided himself and strained his hearing, listening close for any little sound. Nothing reached his ears and he sighed.

'_This was stupid. Besides, what makes you think that he'll take you back now?'_ With a discouraged sigh and a small frown, he turned around and started heading back towards the stairs when suddenly the notes from a piano hit his eardrums head-on.

"There!" he said aloud, spinning around with such force he almost fell to the ground. He raced down the hall, desperately trying to follow the sound of the notes. He came face-to-face with a large door at the end of the hall. It was closed but he could tell that the music was inside. Slowly, as to not disturb the player of the piano, he grasped the door handle and quietly pushed it open.

'_I wonder why Tai would be in here…maybe he's just listening to the piano player. Although why the heck would he do that?'_ Abstract thoughts raced around as he silently made his way into the room. It was dark, dimly lit by low lights and smelled of cinnamon. As he walked in further, the music got louder. Having an ear for music himself, Matt followed the beautiful song. It was soft and feathery, melodic and passionate in a way that only a fellow musician such as he could appreciate. He soon rounded the corner and the music was its loudest yet. Becoming more curious about whom this player was and less worried about finding Tai, he hurried forward and stepped into the light, eyes sweeping over the piano and the pianist behind it. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"Tai?" he exclaimed in surprise. Startled by the rude entrance, Tai hit a wrong note and stopped playing all together.

"What the heck are you doing in here?" he asked the American boy.

"I-er, well…Daisuke said I could find you in here," Matt replied lamely, allowing his eyes to move away from the piano and study Tai. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt very similar to his own, other then the fact that it was burgundy in color. His school tie was placed around his neck loose enough to be comfortable but tight enough to pull the look together. Black slacks were his choice of bottoms, along with black dress shoes; shoes that Matt had never seen before in his life.

"Well, you found me," Tai laughed slightly. Matt nodded in agreement.

"So…I didn't know you could play the piano," he mentioned, motioning towards the black grand piano Tai was sitting at.

"Not many people do." Tai shrugged.

"Oh. So…what were you playing?" the blond questioned, staring at the other boy in awe.

"Think of Me. It's from another musical, Phantom of the Opera?" Tai said in a form of a question, as though he were wondering if Matt was familiar with it.

"Haven't heard of it, the song I mean."

"Somehow I didn't think you would." A smile reached Tai's lips.

"So how does it go? It has words right?" Matt asked.

"Yes."

"So how does it go?" Matt repeated himself.

"Well…go watch the movie for yourself," Tai replied.

"Just sing it for me." Matt waved a hand in the air. Tai averted his gaze back to the piano keys.

"I'm not much of a singer," he began to mumble his protest.

"C'mon, Tai, please? It's just us in here," Matt pointed out, knowing that Tai's resolve was slowly crumbling.

"But…" Tai couldn't think of a decent argument. He heaved a heavy sigh and glared up at Matt. "If I sing, you're not to tell anybody all right?"

"Got it." Matt nodded eagerly and leaned against the top of the piano, awaiting Tai's performance. Tai positioned his fingers over the keys of the piano and started playing a small introduction before he opened his mouth and began to sing quietly.

"Think of me, think of me fondly, when we're said goodbye. Remember me once in a while, please promise me you'll try. When you find that, once again, you long to take your heart back and be free. If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me…" Matt stared at his friend with wide eyes once again.

'_What the hell is he talking about not being much of a singer! Idiot, he sounds…wow. And the song is so gorgeous…wow.'_ Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. Tai continued singing and playing softly, slowly gaining more confidence in his voice as he went along.

"Recall those days, look back on all those time, think of the things we'll never do. There will never be a day, when I won't think of you…" Tai stopped singing and finished out the final notes of the song, looking up at Matt timidly, who was standing still with his mouth open and eyes wide still.

"Er…I told you I wasn't very good," he started to say before Matt cut him off.

"What are you **talking** about? Tai that was…holy shit, why didn't you tell me you could sing and play piano?" Matt babbled excitedly. Tai blinked in surprise and lowered his fingers away from the keys.

"You actually thought that was okay?"

"Okay? It was better then okay! Holy…wow," Matt laughed suddenly. "Who would have thought?"

Tai's smile grew wider. "Yeah…" he trailed off, taking in the sight before him while he could. Matt was still dressed as a kitty but unlike earlier that day, he looked…happy. He was there, laughing and smiling again, all because of Tai.

"Tai? Can we talk?" the blond's voice brought him out of his appreciation for beauty.

"Sure. What's up?" Tai asked, giving his full attention to the blue-eyed boy. Matt took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Look, I know I've been a real jerk for the past month…and I thought I had a legitimate reason why," he stopped suddenly and opened his eyes again, staring directly into Tai's. "There is never a legitimate excuse to ignore your best friend."

"I'm glad you finally figured that out," Tai joked, but the look in Matt's eyes quickly hushed him. "Go on."

Matt nodded and continued. "Anyway, I just want to say I'm sorry for being a jerk and I'm sorry for being so stupid. I just want things to go back to the way they were. Do you think we can try that?" he stopped again, waiting for Tai's reaction. No reaction came. Panicked by the idea that maybe Tai wouldn't forgive him after all, he continued talking.

"I completely understand if you're mad at me and you don't care about me anymore and never want to deal with me again or even bother to forgive me, but believe me when I say this, Taichi Yagami, I'm sorry. Letting go of you and our friendship was the biggest mistake of my life." Matt inhaled sharply, biting back tears for the second time that day. Tai's eyes hardened suddenly as he watched Matt slowly lose composure.

"What makes you think that I would never forgive you?" he started off, turning on the piano bench to face his companion better. "What makes you think that I'd still be mad when you're obviously still the same Matt? What makes you think that I want to throw away our friendship anymore then you do?" he stopped to take a breath and looked at his hands. "Matt, I have missed you like crazy and I don't think you understand that. I forgave you a long time ago and I don't know how you could think otherwise." Matt bit his lip and swallowed.

"I just thought…maybe you didn't care," he said in a shaky tone. "Or that maybe you didn't love me anymore," he whispered almost silently, eyes trained onto the ground. Tai suddenly stood up and walked away from the piano until he was standing right in front of Matt. Forcefully grabbing the other boy's chin, he lifted Matt's head until his blue eyes met Tai's own brown ones.

"Now you listen to me and you listen to me good," he started out. "Never once in this whole fight did I stop loving you. Where you got the idea that I stopped, I have no clue. But come on! I'm not that flaky! Everybody has their good days, bad days, and all that other shit. That's why I never stopped, even though I knew it was gonna be hell trying to get to you. But really? It's worth it. I love you so much." He leaned forward and brushed a chaste kiss across Matt's cheek, pulling away and dropping his hand.

"Don't ever forget that," he said with a flourish and walked away, disappearing into the darkness of the room. Matt allowed his gaze to linger on Tai for the longest time until he could no longer make out his outline, dropping his eyes down to the piano. A faint smile crossed his face and his tears finally fell down his cheeks as he sank onto the piano bench, resting his back against the keys.

"I am **such** an idiot."

**

* * *

**

From: Daisuke

Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2004 11:08pm

**To: Hikari **

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_Hikari!_

_Okay, something_** major **_has happened! Tai just came back from the music room with the dopiest grin on his face! Do you know what that means!_

…

_No really, do you know what that means, because I have no idea whatsoever. I tried asking him what happened and all he said was something about a walk through Hell? I don't know what Hell has to do with anything, but I do know it has something to do with Matt because I sent him to the music room earlier! _**AH!**_ I hope that means they're friends again! Guess we'll find out right? Anyway, hope your Valentine's Day with TK was just as eventful as the one here._

_Oh hey before I go…can I get some advice? Thanks._

_So see, there's this guy here and he's a really good friend and stuff but lately he's been acting a little…weird? He's gotten kinda clingy and he's always making jokes about being my boyfriend and stuff…it's really weird. So what's his deal and how do I make him stop? I don't want to deal with this kind of stuff._

_Anyway, is Mom sending my presents up? Cause that'd be cool, haha. Oh well, if not, I'll just wait until we get home in June. I'm going to bed though, I'm exhausted. All of this playing cupid shit is for the birds. Night Hika!_

_-Dais_

**

* * *

**

From: Hikari

Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2004 2:37pm

**To: Daisuke**

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_He likes you, dumbass. Either that or you've shown interest in him. But last time I checked, you were straight. _

…

_Is there something you're not telling me?_

_-Kari_

* * *

"You are a genius," Daisuke stated as he crashed into a chair next to Kiseki. It was Wednesday afternoon and both boys were in the library, Kiseki working on a history paper and Daisuke visiting his friend. 

"I know, thanks. But you can fill me in on why I'm a genius this time," the older boy replied.

"Because, whatever you said to Matt that made him apologized was **brilliant!** They're actually friends again!" Daisuke exclaimed, suddenly remembering where he was and lowering his voice. "Granted they're still not sleeping in the same room, but at least they're starting to talk and hang out again!" Kiseki stopped writing and looked up suddenly, examining Daisuke's face.

"What do you mean whatever **I** said? All I said for him to do was dress as a cat! Anything else he did was on his own, although that was the second step in my plan," he said thoughtfully, looking up towards the ceiling.

"…well, that takes care of that. Any other ideas?" Daisuke asked. Kiseki nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Yep, but you'll have to wait until your birthday Saturday to see hear it." He grinned impishly.

"Aw, that's not fair!" Daisuke whined.

"Oh well." Kiseki shrugged and looked back down, staring straight into Daisuke's eyes. Daisuke blinked and pulled away slightly.

"What are you doing?" he questioned the black-haired boy.

"Reading your mind. Something's bothering you, I can tell," Kiseki explained and continued staring at him.

'_Shit! I forgot he could do that!'_ Daisuke's mind went into a flurry, trying to think of anything to cover up what he was really thinking.

'_Please don't know what I was thinking.'_ He silently begged.

"You want to get Matt and Tai together so that you don't have to think about your own confusion of your sexuality?" Kiseki said in a questioning tone and stared at him oddly. A light pink flush flooded Daisuke's cheeks and he looked away. Kiseki took that as a sign that he was right. "Hey, c'mon. Just because you don't know what you like doesn't mean anything," he said in attempt to cheer Daisuke up. Daisuke shook his head and stared at the table.

"Yeah it does. I can't be anything less then straight. My dad already doesn't like the fact that Tai's bi, and Tai's not even his biological kid. What do you think he'd do if he found out I was even **thinking** about not being straight?" he said darkly, fiercely glaring at the tabletop. Kiseki leaned back in his chair and continued studying Daisuke's face.

'_Well now, this looks totally familiar.'_ He chuckled inwardly. He cleared his throat and reached forward, lifting Daisuke's head up with his fingers.

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Matt, okay? Screw what everybody else thinks. It's as simple as that."

"But my dad-" Daisuke started to protest but Kiseki shushed him.

"Obviously, your mom doesn't care. So you have one person on your side, and obviously Tai too. And I'm assuming your sister won't care?"

Daisuke shrugged and bit his lower lip. "I doubt she would care but I don't want to be anything other then straight…"

"Why not?"

"Because Tai's bi and I don't want to be like Tai!" the young brunt finally snapped. Kiseki jumped in surprise at the volume and blinked, his expression changing from one of concern to one of curiosity.

"Who says you'd be like Tai if you weren't straight?"

"Don't you get it, Kiseki? Everybody just sees me as a damn copy of Tai! And I. Am. Not. Tai! I don't want to be Tai! If I became less then straight, that would just add to the list of reasons Tai and I are alike, and I don't want that!" Daisuke hollered in exasperation, slamming his hands down on the table to emphasize his point. Kiseki remained silent for a moment, allowing time for Daisuke to calm himself and time for him to gather his thoughts.

"If it helps any, I don't think you're just a copy of Tai," he began slowly. Daisuke tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Kiseki shook his head no. He slowly began to trace Daisuke's jaw line with the fingers on his right hand.

"Nope…and you wanna know why?" he spoke in a hushed tone, focusing his magenta eyes on Daisuke cinnamon-brown ones.

"W-why?" Daisuke managed to stammer out, unsure of how to react to Kiseki's touch, nor why he was enjoying it.

"Because you're **so** much cuter," Kiseki purred and leaned forward, brushing his lips over Daisuke's without warning. Daisuke let out a startled squeak that went unheard as Kiseki pressed against him harder. Realizing how uncomfortable that was, Daisuke let up and relaxed his lips, allowing them to meld together with Kiseki's. The older boy ran his tongue along Daisuke's bottom lip gently, causing Daisuke to gasp and open his mouth wide enough to Kiseki to slip his tongue inside. He explored and opened his mouth wider, almost as if he were trying to get Daisuke to mimic his actions. Unsurely and somewhat shyly, Daisuke poked his tongue into Kiseki's mouth, trying to copy what the other boy was doing to him. He had just gotten into it when Kiseki broke the kiss, pulling away slowly and standing up. Gathering his books and bag, he stood above Daisuke and drummed his fingers on the tabletop.

"Well, I hope that helped you figure out your sexuality," he said with a wink and walked away, disappearing behind the shelves of books in the library and leaving Daisuke to ponder what just happened.

'_Oh. Shit.' _

**

* * *

**

From: Daisuke

Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 6:41pm

**To: Hikari **

**Subject: RE: Taito Project**

_No, there's nothing I'm keeping from you, Kari. If there was, you'd already know about it, trust me. Don't even think about stuff like that. I'm not Tai, remember?_

_-Dais_

* * *

Daisuke walked out of the bathroom later that night, feeling rather refreshed from the hot shower he had just finished up. Tai was lying on his bed reading a magazine when he came back out to the main room, idly turning the pages. 

"Hey, Tai," he greeted his brother and continued rubbing his hair dry, squeezing excess water onto the floor.

"Hey, Hotlips," Tai replied with a knowing smirk. Daisuke's eyes enlarged and he choked on his own saliva, dropping the towel in his hands to the floor.

"What did you just call me?" he wheezed out, picking up his towel with shaky hands.

"Oh don't play dumb, Daisuke, I know what you were doing in the library this afternoon." Tai looked up from his magazine, amusement clearly written on his face. Panic arose in Daisuke as he quickly tried to find an excuse.

"What do you mean?" he winced, suddenly becoming aware of how pathetic that sounded. Tai's smirk widened and he threw the magazine down to the floor, training his eyes on his younger brother.

"Matt told me that he saw you and Kiseki making-out in the library today," Tai confirmed Daisuke's greatest fear. "But then I thought to myself, 'Gee self, that doesn't make sense because Daisuke's perfectly straight!' So, care to share little brother?" Daisuke averted his gaze to the floor, dripping in embarrassment as the conversation continued.

"Not particularly," he mumbled, feeling the blood rush to his face. Tai grinned again and sat up straight.

"Oh come on! Ya gotta tell somebody, might as well be me," Tai reasoned as Daisuke sank onto his own bed. "Or are you one of those who doesn't kiss and tell?" he questioned with a wicked grin.

"Shut up!" Daisuke commanded and chucked a pillow at his brother's face, burying his head under his other one.

"You can't honestly tell me you're **ashamed** of yourself!" Tai exclaimed.

"Well I am! Not all of us are flamboyant and stupid like you are, Tai!" Daisuke shouted from under his pillow, muffling the sound immensely.

"Who are you calling stupid?"

"You, obviously."

Tai rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, staring at the lump on the next bed known as Daisuke. "Why are you embarrassed about it?" he questioned gently, not liking the way his brother was hiding from everything.

"Because," Daisuke replied instantly and offered no more. Tai resisted the urge to beat his head against the wall and instead tried a new approach.

"So, what does that make you? Bi? Gay? Experimenting?" Daisuke didn't say anything for a moment, choosing to remain buried under his pillow. Tai was slowly losing his patience and prodded again. "Dais?"

"I don't know," the younger boy said quietly.

"What?" Tai asked involuntarily, unsure if he heard him right.

"I said I **don't know** okay?" Daisuke shouted and sniffled.

"How can you not know?" Tai continued asking questions, getting up from his position on his bed and padding over to Daisuke's.

"I don't know," Daisuke whimpered again.

"Well…did you like kissing Kiseki?" Daisuke sniffed again and by this point Tai knew he was trying not to cry.

"…yes…" came the tiny reply.

"Well there you go, you're gay," Tai announced with a shrug.

"No."

"What the hell do you mean no?"

"Mimi…"

"You **still** like her?" Tai raised an eyebrow at this revelation.

"I guess," Daisuke said in that same pitiful voice. Tai frowned and picked up the pillow, removing it from Daisuke's head.

"Hey!" the younger boy objected, looking up with tears in his eyes and distress written all over his face.

"Wanna try that again?" Tai asked rhetorically. "Look me in the eye and say that you still like Mimi." Daisuke's lower lip quivered slightly but he kept his gaze locked with Tai's.

"I still like Mimi."

"Wow…so you're bi," Tai concluded.

"No, Tai! You don't get it!" Daisuke exploded and sat up so he was eye-level with Tai.

"…okay so wait. I'm the one who's actually bi and you're telling me I don't get it? How does that one work?" Tai folded his arms over his chest and stared down at his youngest sibling.

"Just…leave me alone! I don't need you getting involved with my life!" Daisuke insisted, curling himself into a fetal position away from Tai.

"Coulda fooled me," Tai murmured and shook his head, returning to the situation at hand. "Well, do you like Kiseki?"

"I don't know! That's the entire freakin' point, Tai! I don't know who I like or what I want anymore!" Daisuke closed his eyes as a few tears slipped down his face. Tai frowned again, awkwardly patting his brother on the shoulder.

"Well, when you wanna talk about it, I'm the most experienced with this whole thing. Besides, I've gone through exactly what you went through…kinda." Tai looked up thoughtfully, placing his chin into the palm of his left hand. "Actually, I didn't go through this whole angsty thing. I kinda was just like, 'Okay guys are sexy too, yay!' Besides, being bi isn't too bad, best of both worlds. But yeah…I didn't go through the angst thing."

"Tai, just shut the hell up, all right? That's why I say you don't understand! You'll **never** understand because you're not me! You're better then me, you know how to handle everything, I get it! Stop rubbing it in!" Daisuke managed to choke out before he started sobbing harder. Tai remained frozen in his spot, running Daisuke's words through his mind slowly.

"Is that what you really think? That I think I'm better then you?" he asked, watching Daisuke cry his heart out.

"No, it's not just you, it's everybody else too!" Daisuke informed him through his tears.

"What in the **hell** are you talking about?" Tai stared at Daisuke dumbly.

"Oh for the love of…Tai think about it! Everybody loves you! God, I can't even talk to anyone without them mentioning your name! It's always 'You're Tai's little brother huh?' or 'Your brother is so awesome!' or 'Can you do whatever like your brother can?' You don't realize how freakin' annoying that is! It's like people don't even realize I'm not you, nor will I ever be you! It's like they're saying that I have to be a carbon-copy of you." Daisuke paused in his speech in attempt to wipe away some of his tears and to catch his breath.

"You don't know how many nights I've laid awake just thinking how much I hate you for being what everybody wants. But then at the same time, I hate myself because I know I shouldn't be mad at you for being you. And I know I'll never compare to you but I'm trying so hard and it's like I'm failing and I don't know what to do anymore! Nobody gets it!" he finally finished, his breathing hitched and his face streaked with tears as Tai sat silently, absorbing all of this new-found information.

"How long have you been feeling like this?" he asked slowly, afraid to shatter his brother even more then he already was. Daisuke shrugged and let out a small hiccup.

"Since I was like, ten?" the mahogany-haired boy guessed. Tai's mouth fell agape and he blinked hard.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Daisuke shrugged again and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

"I didn't know how to tell you…unlike you, I don't wear my heart on my sleeve."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means, I don't go around openly telling people what I feel. I just can't, Tai, not with stuff like this."

Tai nodded solemnly and sighed. "That's why you freaked out last Friday huh? You were mad because I was smothering you."

"Yep."

"I'm sorry, Daisuke…if I had known…"

"Well, now you do," Daisuke spat out and grabbed his pillow back from Tai's grasp.

"But-"

"Tai, just shut up and leave me alone. I don't wanna deal with it," Daisuke said with an air of finality and slammed the pillow over his head once more. Tai rolled his eyes and got off of Daisuke's bed.

"Okay fine, whatever. But if you wanna talk, I'll listen, I promise," he reminded the younger boy.

"Sure you will," Daisuke mumbled. Tai shook his head and climbed back onto his own bed, shutting off the lamp and climbing under the covers.

"Good night, Daisuke," he said quietly, knowing that the other boy had already cried himself to sleep. He closed his eyes and let his mind replay Daisuke's words, trying to place a finger on what had caused the younger boy to completely snap. Then it hit him.

'_His first major bout with hormones. Oh shit, we're all in for a wild ride.'_ He smirked into the darkness and drifted off to sleep.

**

* * *

From: Hikari**

Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 2:37pm

**To: Daisuke**

**Subject:I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!**

_You dirty little liar! Why didn't you _**tell**_ me you kissed a guy? I had to find out from Tai and oh my gosh! Daisuke! Why didn't you just tell me this instead of lying to me and saying that you had nothing to tell me? It's not like I would be mad at you or anything! God, I can't believe you kept _**that**_ from _**me!**_ Ugh!_

_So…was he a good kisser? This is crazy! Now I have two brothers who aren't straight! TK's going to have kittens…love ya!_

_-Kari_

_P.S: I won't tell anybody else unless you say I can, okay?_

* * *

Thursday and Friday, things between Tai and Daisuke were a tad tense, Tai not wanting to anger the younger boy and Daisuke furious that Tai had told Kari about his experiment on Wednesday. However, by Saturday, both were willing to push those matters aside. 

At 8am Saturday morning, Tai was awoken by somebody whispering his name and shaking his shoulder frantically.

"Tai! Tai, get up!"

Tai moaned and swatted at the intruding hands. "Go 'way," he mumbled in a slurred voice.

"**Tai!"**

Tai jumped and sat straight up. "What!" he yelped, looking around the room frantically. However, all he saw was Daisuke sitting at the foot of his bed with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm 13!" he announced proudly. Tai threw a glance at the clock and nodded.

"That's nice, Dais, but couldn't you have been 13 in a couple of hours? It's still really early," Tai pointed out. Daisuke shook his head, eyes dancing with delight.

"I want you to come downstairs with me and see if I have any packages! Kari said that Mom would probably send my birthday presents up here," Daisuke explained and hopped off of the bed, tugging on Tai's arm. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

"Okay, jeeze!" Tai yanked his arm away and stood up by himself, pulling on a pair of sweatpants to cover his blue boxers. Slipping on his sneakers, he ran a hand through his hair. "Let's go then." Daisuke let out a whoop of delight and grabbed onto Tai's arm again, dragging him out of the room and down the stairs. Both boys ran into the front office and stopped at the desk.

"Good morning boys," the receptionist greeted them.

"Good morning, Kirei," both boys replied politely.

"What can I do for you two?" Kirei asked the two teens.

"We wanted to see if there were any packages for us," Tai explained. Kirei nodded and got up from her desk.

"Let me go check in the back and see what we have." She walked away, leaving the two boys to wait patiently. Well, one of them anyway.

"What do you think Mom bought me?" Daisuke asked, peering around the desk for a peek at the back room.

"I dunno, something you'll like though. I know that much," Tai answered just as Kirei came back with about five boxes in different shapes and sizes.

"This is what I came up with boys," she said and handed over the packages.

"Sweet, thanks Kirei!" Daisuke thanked her and ran out of the office, leaving Tai with his packages.

"I'm gonna kill him by the end of today," Tai growled to himself and followed at a slower pace.

Daisuke was bouncing on his bed by the time Tai arrived into their room. He dropped all of the packages in his brother's lap and sat on the floor next to the bed.

"Next time, it would help if you carried some of your own presents," he said dully and leaned his head against the edge of the bed. Daisuke shrugged and started tearing open his parcels.

"Manga!" he cried out happily and held up three volumes of Naruto.

"I'm going to guess that they're from Kari?" Tai questioned, not bothering to move his head as wrapping paper fell onto his face.

"Yep," Daisuke replied and tore open his other presents. He also received two volumes of Great Teacher Onizuka, two volumes of DN Angel, one of the Dragon Ball Z Gameboy Advance games, about 2,796 yen, and a sleek navy blue jacket, made out of what appeared to be nylon.

"You made out pretty good," Tai commented as he threw a ball of paper at his brother. Daisuke nodded and smiled.

"Yep, I sure did."

"Happy birthday, Daisuke," two new voices said from the doorway of the room. The two brunet brothers looked up and spotted Matt and Kiseki.

"Hey guys," Daisuke grinned. The two boys walked further into the room and sat down next to Tai.

"We come bearing gifts, Master," Matt said mockingly and tossed a small package onto the bed, as did Kiseki.

"You guys didn't have to do that," Daisuke said as he tore into them.

"Oh yes we did," Kiseki replied and snickered as the paper was removed. Daisuke's eyes widened and he blushed lightly, holding up a box of condoms and a pair of silver silk boxers.

"Okay, whose idea was this?" he demanded.

"Kiseki bought you the condoms," Matt said.

"And Matt bought the boxers," Kiseki finished with a cheesy grin.

"Thanks?" Daisuke shrugged and threw both things into his pile of presents. "Can we go somewhere?"

"Like where?" Tai asked, standing up and stretching his limbs.

"Just go walk around the halls, give us something to do?" Daisuke suggested, already climbing off of the bed.

"Sounds like a great idea!" Kiseki agreed enthusiastically.

'_Almost too enthusiastically…'_Tai narrowed his eyes. Kiseki gave Matt a side-ways glance and Matt nodded quickly, almost quick enough that Tai didn't catch it.

"Let's roll then," Matt said and the four boys walked out the door, heading up the stairs to wander around the third floor where no one could disturb them. Kiseki pulled Daisuke ahead of Tai and Matt and looked back, making sure they were out of hearing distance.

"Okay, so here's the thing. I figured out the second part of this plan/bet thing," he whispered.

"What?" Daisuke questioned.

"Basically, Matt just has to talk to Tai about how he's feeling and shit, now that they're back on the level of friendship." Kiseki nodded in self-assurance.

"Okay then," Daisuke replied with a shrug. Kiseki tilted his head slightly and looked at Daisuke.

"You're acting weird…are you okay?"

"Yes," Daisuke answered a little too fast for Kiseki's liking. He rolled his eyes and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"You know I can read minds, so it's just easier if you tell me what's bothering you," Kiseki reminded him. Daisuke sighed deeply and looked at the ceiling.

"I'm just…confused."

"About Wednesday? What we were talking about and stuff?" Kiseki guessed. Daisuke nodded hesitantly.

"I just…I don't know. I mean, I like you, but I don't like you like **that**, y'know?" he said quietly. Kiseki stared silently, a smile threatening to overtake his lips and he laughed out loud.

"Is that what you were worried about?" Kiseki asked. "Oh come on, Dais, I don't care."

"You don't?" Daisuke asked, puzzled to say the least.

"Nope. If it helps matter, I'm not even gay, or bi for that matter."

'_Liar.'_ Kiseki pushed down his negative thoughts and forced a smile to stay on his face.

"Then what the hell did you kiss me for?" Daisuke hissed, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and shaking him around. Kiseki calmly reached up and removed Daisuke's hands.

"I did it in hopes to help you figure out your sexuality. Is that a crime?" he inquired as they continued walking aimlessly.

"Well…no, but weren't you afraid of somebody seeing you kiss a boy?"

"Why would I be? I never said I was straight either. I'm just…open-minded? I go with whatever catches my attention I suppose. And besides, it's like I keep telling you people, screw what everybody else thinks." Kiseki shrugged.

"I suppose you're right…"

"Yep. So did you figure things out?"

"No."

"Oops."

"Yeah oops, you dolt," Daisuke muttered and began ascending the stairs leading to the fourth floor.

"Sorry, I really thought it would help," Kiseki apologized.

"Meh, don't worry about it." Daisuke brushed it off. Kiseki nodded and followed him up the stairs.

Meanwhile behind them, Matt and Tai were walking side by side, following behind the younger boys at a slower pace.

"So, is Daisuke driving you nuts yet?" Matt asked, scanning the hallway with his blue eyes.

"Oh god, you wouldn't believe it. He's not too bad yet, but just give it time, dude, give it time," Tai replied as they began to wander up the stairs after their friends.

"Hmm I see," Matt said for lack of anything else to say. His eyes swept over the left side of the hall and he finally saw his chance. Without warning, he covered Tai's mouth with one hand and grabbed his arm with the other, dragging him into a closet and shutting the door behind them. Once inside, he released the tanned boy.

"Matt! What the hell are we doing in a freakin' closet?" Tai shouted. Matt pressed a finger to his lips to silence Tai, barely able to make out his outline in the dark.

"We need to talk," Matt spoke in a low voice, squirming around to get a broom handle out of his back and his foot out of a bucket.

'_Typical, I just _**had**_ to pick a broom closet.'_ He thought grudgingly and swept his hair out of his eyes.

"Well, couldn't we have talked out in the hall, where it was **light**?" Tai asked, slightly annoyed by how dark and cramped the closet was.

"No because this is important and I don't want anybody interrupting me, okay?"

"Fine," Tai sighed. "What is it?" Matt looked skyward at the roof of the closet and sighed as well.

"Okay, here's the thing…so I've been thinking about things."

"What sort of things?" Tai questioned, raising his eyebrow even though Matt couldn't see it.

"You, me, us," Matt replied, using the same wording Tai had used the week before.

"Oh," Tai squeaked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What about you, me, and us?" Matt scratched his head and licked his lips, preparing himself for a long interrogation session.

"You've changed me so much, in ways that I never even thought were possible. I am truly amazed. You are one of the most incredible people I have ever met and I don't know how I lived my life without knowing you, or even someone like you for that matter. Those are the things about you and me." Matt absently toyed with a dustpan hanging on the wall next to him.

"Okay…so what about us?" Tai prodded him to continue.

"Gimme a minute, okay? This is kinda hard," Matt snapped back.

'_Whoa, here we go again.'_ Tai inwardly groaned, not really wanting to deal with another hormonal boy twice in one week.

"If this sounds stupid, don't blame me, I'm just trying to get it out before I back down."

"Got it."

"Okay," Matt breathed in deeply and launched into his explanation. "I like the way you look at me. I like the way you talk to me in a tone of voice that's different then how you talk to everybody else. I like the way you comfort me when shit hits the fan. I like the way you hold me when I'm sad and even the way you hold me to restrain me when I'm mad. I like the way you understand me without me even needing to open my mouth. And…" he stopped talking suddenly.

"And?" Tai repeated, on the verge of ripping at the seams with suspense.

"And I like the way you kiss me. Christmas, New Year's Valentine's Day? I want you to kiss me on days other then holidays!" Tai started to open his mouth to object. "And don't even try to lie about Christmas. I know for a fact that you kissed me and that it was real…but I wasn't sure how I felt about it back then."

"Well if you like it when I kiss you, why the hell did you freak out about New Year's Eve?" Tai questioned, leaning against the wall behind him with his arms folded over his stomach.

"Because it felt like you were taking advantage of me when I was drunk on champagne! But at Christmas, it was just you being…well, you, that's why I didn't say anything."

"Whoa, wait a second! **I **took advantage of **you? Hello!** You're the one who totally threw himself at me!" Tai argued back.

"I know, that's why I'm saying this now. I don't care anymore, Tai. Who cares who kissed who or who said what? The point is, we both liked it." Matt stared at him through hard eyes, almost challenging Tai to argue again. Not like Tai could see that though, it was dark.

"I'm glad you finally admit to that," Tai snorted.

"What do you mean finally?" Matt squawked, flailing his arms in the air in an outrage. Tai rolled his eyes and lowered his eyelids.

"Oh please, Matt. The only reason I keep kissing you is because I know you like it. You just had to admit that to yourself," he said in plain and simple words, reaching out to poke Matt in the nose.

"Ow! Tai, that was my eye!"

"Oops, sorry."

"Jerk."

"Oh, don't start that again."

Matt smirked and nodded. "Fine."

Tai stared at his feet and scuffed the toe of his shoe along the floor. "So…what does that make us?" he asked softly, looking back at what he assumed to be Matt's face.

"Well, I was hoping you would tell me that," Matt said truthfully. Tai let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Believe it or not, I'm not better at this kind of stuff then you are," he told the blond boy.

"Figures," Matt shot back.

"Shut up," Tai ordered. Matt nodded and stood still, allowing the wheels in his head to do the turning of thoughts for him.

"Hey Tai?"

"Yeah?" Matt leaned forward and pressed his lip onto Tai's face.

"Ack, Matt, that's my ear!" Tai squealed and wriggled away from the hot breath. Matt paid no heed to Tai's discomfort and began planting kisses down the side of his face, being close enough to him now to see where he was going. He smirked into his kisses as he heard a small whimper escape from Tai's mouth. Finally reaching his mouth, he attacked Tai's lips, savoring the taste that he had grown to love. Tai immediately indulged himself in the kiss, licking the corner of Matt's lips. Matt parted his lips and allowed his hands to slip down and under Tai's shirt, brushing cold fingers against the firm abdomen. Tai moaned in the back of his throat and grabbed the back of Matt's neck, pulling him closer and inserting his tongue into Matt's mouth. Slowly and sensually, he became running his tongue along Matt's gums and intertwining his tongue with Matt's, experimenting with all possible angles and pressures.

After all, his goal was to see how many new sounds he could make the blond produce.

* * *

Outside in the hall, Kiseki and Daisuke had backtracked, having suddenly realized that they lost the other two boys. 

"Where do you think they went?" Daisuke asked. Kiseki shrugged and continued walking down the hall. Suddenly both boys heard a loud thump from inside the wall. They stopped in front of a door. Both of them exchanged skeptical glances and pressed their ears to the door.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" Kiseki questioned. Daisuke raised both eyebrows and snickered.

"I think I have an idea…" Kiseki gave him a confused look before he finally caught on.

"Oh!"

Daisuke nodded and smiled widely. "Great plan dude. I didn't think you would tell Matt to make-out with him." Kiseki stared at him and shook his head.

"Uh, Dais? That wasn't part of the plan…" Kiseki trailed off. Both boys stared at the door with wide eyes and began to walk away.

"Well whatever, I like that plan better," Daisuke concurred and headed down the stairs, Kiseki right on his tail.

* * *

GOD YES! WOOHOO! Okay, review replies!

CartoonHeroes: Hey Emu! Glad you liked that update and hope you liked this one just as much. I will update for your birthday, promise. I like bagels!

DarkMetalAngel of Destruction: Yeah, it was long, sorry, but glad you liked it. Hope you liked this one too.

Trance Yagami: Glad you liked it. And if that were possible, yes I would download my brain. I'm glad you totally enjoy it and TRY DOING SOMETHING EVIL! I dare you. Heh, hope you liked this one!

YugiYamiforever: Yep, another chapter! I think they pretty much worked out their difference, lol. And yes, poor Tai. Hope this chapter was just as good as the last one.

BreatheMeDeep: Holy shiz BMD, you type a LOT! Anyway, I dunno how I write so much, I just do. Angst is always good, I love Kari in this story. And I don't like Avril. The end. Lol. Haru, true story. Exchange Tai for Tyson and Haru for Chris and you have almost a totally true story. Anyway, no the paper wasn't Tai's. I love the teachers, I want some like that. Hope you had fun in Hawaii!

Neo: Nope, they're 15 dude! Oh well, think what you want, lol. Anyway, yes, Kiseki is so pretty. Glad you love everything and I would go into detail but I really just wanna get this done, ha. O.o Glompness…yay!

Kaiya5: Swordfighting looks so fun and I wana do it! Yes, Yama was being a bad boy, but he made up for it, now didn't he? Hope you liked this chapter!

Tsuki no Lomelinde: Really now? I don't know whether to be flattered or ashamed, lol. And yes, neo still sells pitchforks but I don't wanna die yet! Let me finish the story first! Hee.

SnakeMistress: Glad you liked the last chapter, and yes stupid Yamato. Bob will be back in two chappies! Hopefully you like this chapter too!

ryuu-takahashi: I said no just because I didn't feel like explaining everything that would happen in the story and it was easier then saying this will happen and this will change, y'know? Sorry if I offended you. Glad you liked the story anyway.

The Kaizeress: Glad you liked that chapter and I hope you liked this chapter just as much.

Yamato's Tiger Lily: Glad you liked it! And sexual tension is fun (when it doesn't involve you, haha). Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and yes, in fact, the next one will be updated around the 27th (my birthday's on the 24th). Hope this tides you over until then.

Sovereign of Silence3: Thanks, glad you liked the swordfight. I wish I coulda learned it too…that woulda been fun! Anyway, glad you like the long chapters and such. Ah, "Mom" will be revealed next chapter and as you can see, Tai and Yama overcame their issues. Hope you liked this chapter!

JohnneyAntonelli: Yep, I updated and no not exactly. I use the name, but they're not the same people. The only real anime characters I use are characters from all four seasons of Digimon. Yep, Matt's dad got married to Bitchlady, which is gross. And I'm glad you liked Kiseki cause as you can see, he was in this chapter a lot. And yep, this is going to be a novel (I hope). It's nice to know somebody would buy it! Hope you liked this chapter.

minnermon: Complications are fun though. Glad you loved it either way and yeah, I hate Takeru's side of things, but he'll slowly change, I promise. Yep, Hikari knows where she stands…I'm proud of her for that. And no, you shouldn't being similarities between Fruits Basket Haru and Kyo and these guys but I went and looked and they DO look like them. Oops. I hate Toushi too, but as you can see, he got what he deserved. Hope you liked this chapter!

Redvind: Ah, I'm sorry! Yama stopped being a jerk, see! I'm not hooking up Tai and Kiseki, haha. Tai's happy, see? Hope you're happy with this chapter too!

Kawaii Kyo And Totchi-Sama: Yes, we all hate homophobic Takeru, but he's fixed! Anyway, yes, Eyes will come eventually, promise! Glad you love me, hope you loved this chapter.

puppy-eyes58: Glad you liked it, I hope that this chapter lived up to your expectations.

regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: Haha, I love Koushy too. Here's the update, hope you liked it!

Largo-sensei: Ah! No torture Ty! Haha, here's the next one so hope you enjoy it.

Dreamcrafter: Yep, I felt like he did have a lot to deal with. And yeah, I think we all wanted to smack him just a bit. Glad you like all of the little quirks in this story. And FYI, I don't like my Sorato, lol. Hope you liked this chapter!

Sen-Tay: TAY! I love your amazingly long reviews but I can't take time to reply to everything about it because some people want me to update now, but I love you!

Kari Morgana Black: Well, thanks anyway.

Zeto: Yes! I updated, hope you like it.

Octavo: Again, I love your long reviews, but I can't take the time to review right at this moment, so I love you!

Bonnie Mizuhara Asakura: Yes, she will and yes, TK was getting on my nerves too dude. I hate Toushi, you can kill him if you want. I have a problem with homophobes! Anyway, hope you like this chapter.

SelenaWheeler: Because he is. But hopefully he's not an idiot anymore. And yes, Tai was being stupid too but hopefully this whole chapter makes up for it!

Keiran: Because I am! Lol, yeah, glad somebody understands. Anyway well, hope you like this chapter Joshy.

cute-little-Yugi: Glad you liked that last chapter, and hope you like this one!

Kaizan: Yep, a month, but hopefully this chapter was worth the wait! Glad you liked the last one and thanks for the good luck wishes.

Lugga: Glad you loved the last chapter and yeah, who wasn't mad at Matt, right? Anyway, hope you liked this chapter!

kal-kal: Glad you liked the last chapter, hope this one is just as good!

xSwtLilAngel666x: We're just assuming that the people were far enough away not to hear them, lol. Yeah I know I switch between them, it's because at the beginning of the story I didn't know and then I learned, so I have to go back and edit. Thank you! A carrot huh? Wow…hope you liked this chapter!

Shinobi KazeKage: Yes, Tai won! Anyway…wow, I love your long review and I agree with what you said, but I can't reply to all of it right now cause I have 6 minutes until I get booted off. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter!

Dark Willow aka Admiral2: Thanks a lot, and yes, Bob is cool. Hope you liked this chapter!

Twilight o0o Princess: Hi! Thanks for reading and I'm glad you liked the fic. Hope you liked this chapter.

tya: Hi, thanks for the review! And yes, you are correct but Yamato's choosing to ignore it. Hope you liked this chapter.

silverkaze013: Glad you love it! Sorry for the wait, hope you like this chapter!

Moppy: Hi, thanks for reading and I will throw in a sex scene in the sequel, totally promise. Hope you liked this chapter! Talk to you later.

CrimsonAnjel: GOD JURI! HI! I'm not gonna bother cause you know everything and blah, hope you like the chapter goodbye!

HOLY DAMN! 40! Thanks guys, I'm totally overwhelmed. Anyway, look in my bio if you wanna see the next update! Also, I don't own Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, any of Daisuke's b-day presents and yeah.

FYI, Kari and Daisuke did have email addresses but kept eating them. If you care, Hika's was libraslight at hotmail dot com and Daisuke's was videodragon at hotmail dot com. Bye!


	13. Trust

**WARNING: This chapter is rated R due to explicit sexual content and language.**

_**

* * *

Love is the same as like except you feel sexier.**_

_**-Judith Viorst **_

* * *

"So, you and Matt are an item now huh?" Daisuke looked over at his brother from his position on the bed. 

"Actually, I don't really know what we are. I think we're still trying to figure that out," Tai replied, hanging upside down on his own bed and placing his head on the floor.

"You were making-out in a closet and you don't even know what to call yourselves?" Daisuke lowered his eyelids and shook his head. "You guys are pathetic."

"Hey, shut up. You're just jealous 'cause I have a hot blond and you don't," Tai retaliated and stuck out his tongue.

"Save that for Matt. But seriously, don't you think it's kind of important?"

"What?"

"To figure out what you guys are!" Daisuke shouted in exasperation. Tai rolled his eyes and munched on another Oreo, swallowing it down with some strawberry milk.

"I don't see why it's any of your business anyway, Dais. Let me and Matt figure this out on our own time. In the meantime, I suggest you figure things out between you and Kiseki." He set the glass of milk down, smirking slightly at the sputtering protests his brother was making.

"Me and Kiseki are nothing!" Daisuke finally managed to spit out. Tai lowered his own eyelids and grinned an all-knowing grin.

"Su-ure you're not." He nodded and bounced off of the bed, grabbing his shoes from by the bathroom door.

"We're not!"

"Dais, you don't make-out with somebody and not have it mean something. Trust me, you just don't," Tai explained as he laced up his sneakers, not taking his eyes off of the younger boy.

"Tai, the last time I trusted you, Miko turned blue."

"That's not the point! The point is, when you make-out with somebody, expect it to escalate to bigger, and hopefully better, things," Tai finished with a flourish and stood up, making his way over to the door.

"But-"

"But nothing, Dais. You and Kiseki need to talk, and soon I might add. Put down the Sports Illustrated and go find him," Tai said firmly before yanking open the door and stepping out into the hallway.

"Wait, where are you going?" Daisuke looked up from his magazine suddenly.

"To find Matt. Where else?" Tai shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Exactly. We have some issues to discuss," Tai stated.

"Such as what you are since you were making-out in a closet?" Daisuke went back to scanning through his magazine.

"…well that, and I kinda want him to move back in with me." The older boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Aw, how adorable," Daisuke teased his brother.

"Hey who knows, it might be you and Kiseki who move in together next," Tai shot right back, smiling triumphantly at the small blush on his brother's cheeks.

"Shut up…" Daisuke murmured. Tai nodded knowingly and winked.

"You never know," he called over his shoulder as he disappeared down the stairs, leaving the door to their room wide open. With a defeated sigh, Daisuke got up and kicked the door shut, flopping back down on the bed. Throwing the Sports Illustrated under the bed, he picked up the copy of COSMOgirl! that was tucked inside of SI and resumed his reading. Turning to the Guys section, he scanned through the articles to see if he could get some of his questions answered.

"I never thought it would help to read a girl's magazine, but wow…" Daisuke shook his head and continued skimming. Suddenly, a headline caught his eye.

**He Kissed Me: Now What? **

_Dear Love Doctor,_

_Okay so a little while ago me and my friend were hanging out and just being normal when he leaned over and kissed me. When I asked him about it a few days later, he claimed that the kiss didn't mean anything and that he didn't like me like that. But I want him to like me like that. And he always flirts with me and stuff so what are we? What do I do? Did he really mean it when he said he didn't like me? Please help! _

_Gabe, 16, Tokyo_

_Dear Gabe, _

_Guys don't just go around kissing girls for no reason. There must be some attraction there. And if he's flirting with you, there's definitely something going on. I'd say that it's really something you have to ask him. Be firm about it and tell him exactly what you want from him: a straight answer. Chances are that this boy is just playing with your head to see what you'll do. Tell him that if he doesn't like you then he needs to stop leading you on so that you can move on in your life. _

_It's all good, _

_The Love Doctor_

"…weird," Daisuke breathed out and closed the magazine. "Who would have thought that a magazine would be the answer to all of my problems?" Flipping onto his back, he folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

'_So basically what I have to do is tell Kiseki to stop messing around and tell me what he wants. And I should probably tell him that I do like him, no matter how awkward it is. It's going to be awkward no matter what I suppose. But the "Love Doctor" is right: people don't go around kissing people for no reason. Stupid psychic, I bet he knows that I do like him and he's just enjoying the chance he has to mess with my mind.'_ The brown-eyed boy sighed loudly and reached over to his bedside table, picking up a remote and turning on the stereo. Soon the room was filled with the sounds of Joel Madden singing the chorus of a song.

"Don't say a word, I know you feel the same, just give me a sign, say anything, say anything. Please don't walk away, I know you wanna stay, just give me a sign, say anything, say anything." The words hit a little too close to home and Daisuke gritted his teeth, getting up and ripping the CD out of the player, flinging it across the room.

"Whatever, I hate Good Charlotte anyway," he mumbled to himself and replaced it with one of Tai's Gravitation anime CDs.

* * *

"Yama!" The blond boy barely had time to register that his name was being called before he was hit head-long in the stomach. Matt fell backwards and hit the floor hard, only having his bag cushioning his fall. Once the stars had stopped floating above his head, looked up and spotted Tai sitting on his chest, oddly resembling a puppy happy to see its owner. 

"Hi!" Tai chirped and grinned wider. Matt blinked slowly and pushed Tai off of his body, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"What's up?" he asked as he scooted back against the wall of the hallway, leaving Tai to follow. The brunet sat next to his side and fingered with a few locks of his hair.

"Nuffin, Muffin," he replied happily. A blond eyebrow shot up.

"Did you just call me 'Muffin'?"

"Eh, kinda. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you," Tai continued.

"Oh yeah? About what?" Matt leaned over and rested against Tai's shoulder lightly. A tanned arm snaked around his waist and pulled him closer.

"We-ell, a couple of things actually," Tai started out, resting his chin on Matt's hair.

"Um…aren't people going to freak out when they see us like…cuddling on the floor?" Matt changed the subject, catching Tai off-guard. The tanned boy shrugged and shook his head no.

"First of all, who gives a shit? If they have a problem with it, then they have to deal. Secondly, this hallway is generally deserted on Sunday which is why I was wondering what you were doing wandering around up here all alone." Brown eyes bore into Matt's blue ones.

"Actually, I was going to go visit Naku. I wanted to ask her something about Chicago. Wanna come with me?" he offered.

"Sure, Naku won't care that we just randomly drop by." Tai stood up and held out a hand, pulling Matt up to his feet. Not letting go of his hand, Tai began leading the way to Naku's classroom. "Besides, she loves me."

"Sure, Tai, whatever you say." Matt rolled his eyes and allowed Tai to lead him. Showing a great deal of maturity, Tai stuck out his tongue and stopped in front of the classroom door. Knocking a few times, he swung the door open before a reply was given.

"I love how you wait for a response, Yagami," Naku said without looking up from her computer screen. Tai pulled Matt into the classroom by the hand and grinned at their teacher.

"Well what can I say, lots of things to get done today, don't have time to wait!" he replied cheerfully. Naku nodded in agreement and pushed her chair away from the computer, looking up at the two boys in front of her.

"So what are you two doing in here? It's Sunday afternoon. Shouldn't you be out enjoying it like the rest of your classmates?" She gave them a skeptical look.

"Well, Matt wanted to ask you something about Chicago and he didn't even bother asking me if I knew anything," Tai huffed and leaned against Naku's writing desk.

"Oh quit whining already," Matt scolded. Naku chuckled under her breath and smiled.

"Okay, Matt, what did you need?"

"Well you know that assignment you gave us on the character analysis piece? I was just wondering-" Matt was cut off by the shrill ring of Naku's cell phone.

"Oops, sorry boys. Hold on," Naku apologized and dug through her purse, pulling out a tiny black flip phone. She stepped out of the classroom and shut the door behind her, leaving the two boys to themselves.

"Well…I hope your question can wait," Tai commented lightly and looked out the window.

"Why do you say that?" Matt asked as he perched himself on top of one of the desks.

"Because Naku loves to talk almost as much as I do. So she'll be on the phone for quite a while." Tai rolled his eyes and sauntered over to Naku's computer desk. He sat down in the black faux-leather chair and moved the mouse around, arousing the computer from its idle state.

"Tai, what are you doing?" Matt asked as he made his way around Naku's desk and closer to the computer.

"Getting on Naku's computer, what does it look like?" the brunet replied and looked at the screen. He opened a new browser window and proceeded to check his email.

"Doesn't she care?" Matt raised an eyebrow and fiddled with objects on the desk. "I mean, if it were me, I'd be pretty pissed off with people getting on my computer."

"Well then I'm glad you're not her," Tai muttered and typed in a new address, heading over to a forum page. "Besides it's like I said, Naku loves me. I've used her computer for my own personal use before."

"And she doesn't care?"

"Nope."

"Wow…"

"Yep." It was quiet again with Tai typing on his forum and Matt examining different items on the desk. Suddenly the silence was pierced with a high pitched _ping!_, alerting the two that Naku had a new email.

"Well hello…" Tai said to himself and minimized his forum window. Matt looked up from the paperweight in his hand and glanced at the monitor.

"What are you doing now?" he asked but Tai ignored him, clicking on a new window that led to Naku's email program.

"Let's see," the brunet mumbled and clicked on Naku's inbox.

"Tai, you're going to get in so much trouble!" Matt protested but looked on anyway.

"Doubt it. She'll never know," Tai replied and double-clicked on the email, opening it up for the pair to read.

"Hey you, I haven't heard from you in a while. The boys keeping you down? I imagine they can be a handful. I couldn't even raise one, let alone rule over hundreds. I've been all right now that the holiday seasons are over. Nothing really exciting happens in March. My divorce is still going slowly. You would think that after filling out the paperwork January 1st that they would have moved forward some. I'm hoping to be fully divorced by the time my son comes home from school. He's never liked my new wife; probably because he misses his mother. Anyhow, I hope that you keep your sanity long enough to write me back. Love always, Hiro," Tai read off of the email. He stared at it blankly for a few moments before snorting and rolling his eyes. "So Naku has a penpal, big whoop. This is what she does on her computer all day?"

Matt didn't reply as he read the email over again. Blue eyes examined each word thoughtfully and slowly drifted up to the sender's name. Those same blue eyes widened ten times their normal size and Matt blinked hard. The name was still the same. Noticing his best friend's state of shock, Tai slowly waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hello in there…what's wrong?" Matt turned away from the screen and pointed at the name.

"Naku's writing my father," he said rather monotonously, almost as though he didn't believe the words himself.

"What do you mean Naku's writing your father?" Tai asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I mean Naku's writing my father. See?" Matt pointed at the monitor and showed Tai the name of the sender.

"Hiroaki Ishida…okay? How do you know that that's your dad?" the brunet questioned as he closed the email all together.

"…Tai, I think I would know what my father's name is."

"Right. But still," Tai trailed off and turned around in Naku's chair. "Why would your dad be talking to our teacher?"

"Heck if I know! I haven't talked to my dad since like, before Christmas when I was at your house."

"Talk about bad karma."

"You don't even **know** about karma!" Matt huffed and leaned against the back of the chair Tai was in.

"How do you know that?" Tai folded his arms over his chest.

"Um, because you're you? You know nothing about philosophical stuff like karma and if you do, that's a scary thought."

"Meh, whatever. I just know that karma means payback's a bitch." Tai shrugged. Matt remained silent and stared at the monitor thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking about?" the Japanese boy nudged his friend in the arm lightly.

"Didn't you actually process what the email was saying? My dad and Cla-beast got a divorce! That means they aren't married anymore!" Matt announced excitedly with sparkles in his eyes.

"That's good. But why didn't your dad tell you?"

"I don't know. I'm going to call him later and figure it out now that I have this useful info."

"But don't you think your dad will be wondering how you got wind of his divorce if he hasn't told you yet?" Tai pushed himself out of Naku's chair and closed his forum window.

"…ooh true," Matt replied and frowned. "I guess I'll just play it by ear. He might just tell me on my own."

"Yeah. So you wanna leave and call him now?" Tai asked rhetorically and grabbed Matt's wrist, gently tugging him towards the door. Matt nodded anyway and the two stepped out of the classroom and into the hallway. Naku was nowhere in sight.

"Well that doesn't surprise me any," Tai commented lightly as the two boys walked down the stairs.

"What?"

"That she's gone. Duh."

"Oh…" Matt trailed off and looked around the hall quickly before sliding his hand down to meet Tai's, staring straight ahead. Tai cast the blond a soft smile and shook his head, choosing not to embarrass him.

At least, not now anyway.

* * *

"So where's Daisuke?" the American boy asked as he plopped down on aforementioned boy's bed. 

"Neh, I dunno. Probably finding more random people to make-out with," Tai replied as he dropped himself down on Matt's chest.

"Get off," the other boy whined and pushed the brunet over, climbing on top of him instead.

"Hey wait a minute, I have to get off you, but you can get on me?" Tai quirked an eyebrow and curled his lips into an amused smile. Matt bit down on his own lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"Do you realize how totally wrong that sounded just now?" he stifled a giggle and grinned down into Tai's tanned face. Tai thought quietly for a few moments before stretching his neck up and nuzzling his nose with Matt's with a playful wink.

"It sounds wrong, but it could be lots of fun!" the brunet retorted with a grin. Matt rolled his eyes but grinned as well, leaning his head against Tai's chest. He could hear the other boy's heartbeat, strongly and soothing to his ears. A small sigh of content escaped his lips involuntarily, causing Tai to chuckle.

"Comfy?" the Japanese boy asked, running his hands along Matt's spine. The blond nodded and closed his eyes.

"You're very warm and cuddly…anybody ever tell you that?" he murmured as he snuggled closer. Tai froze quite suddenly, staring straight in front of him.

"_Mmh…Tai…you're so warm…cuddly…and sexy. Yeah…definitely sexy. Don't leave me, babe, ever."_

"_I promise I won't leave you. Will you never leave me?" A soft kiss planted itself onto his lips._

"_Of course, beautiful. I'll always be here for you." He snuggled up closer to the other boy's body and smiled slightly._

"_I love you, Haru." _

"_I love you more, Taichi…I love you more…" _

"Tai? You in there somewhere?" Blue eyes unexpectedly entered his line of vision. Tai blinked hard and shook his head around, clearing it of his stray memories.

"Yeah, I'm here," he answered and trailed his hands down to Matt's hips, resting them there gently. "And to answer your question, despite the fact that you were just making the comment, no, nobody has ever said that I was warm and cuddly."

"Mmh…then let me be the first. You're very warm and cuddly," Matt repeated his earlier comment and gave Tai a quick squeeze.

"Well thank you very much," Tai smirked and allowed one hand to drift to the side, clasping the telephone in his hand. "However, I do believe that we came up here for a reason?" Matt groaned and shook his head, taking the phone from Tai's hand.

"Way to kill the moment," he grumbled quietly.

"Ex**cuse** me! Weren't you the one who wanted to find out if your dad divorced the evil Clarice lady?" Tai reminded the blond, looking slightly offended at the accusation.

"Well, **yeah**, but not when we were in the middle of…" Matt trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence. After all, how do you tell your…best friend? Boyfriend? Whatever he is, that you wanted to continue fooling around with him? It wasn't an easy task.

"What? The middle of what?" Tai taunted him, smiling widely suddenly.

"Never mind," Matt said quickly. Tai shook his head and his grin grew wider, even though it seemed physically impossible to do so.

"Nu-uh, tell me!" the brunet poked one of Matt's cheeks, enjoying the way the blue-eyed boy's face began to turn pink.

"No, shut up!" Matt whined and squirmed away from Tai's touch.

"No way, dude, you brought it up, now you **have** to tell me," the Japanese boy insisted, grabbing Matt's hands and holding them tightly in his own.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"You're gay!"

"Bi, actually. Although I do believe that you are the gay one?" Tai caught the blond off-guard, causing him to sputter a few incoherent sentences. Tai smiled knowingly and leaned in closer, pressing his nose up against Matt's gently. "I'm right, aren't I?" he pressed on, knowing that he was pushing Matt's buttons just right.

"I don't know…" the pale boy said quietly, staring down at Tai's chest.

"What did you say?"

"I said I don't know, Tai! Jeezes, you're not deaf, are you?" he glared defiantly at the brunet, who held his hands up in self-defense.

"No, just kind of dense I guess." Tai shrugged and re-wrapped his arms around Matt's waist, holding him close to his body. "So, because of my density, can you please explain to me how you don't know if you're fully gay?"

"First of all," Matt began, dropping his head back onto Tai's body. "The word density is being used wrong. Secondly, it's just like it sounds. I mean, doesn't being gay mean that you're attracted to men in general?"

"I suppose so."

"See, that's the thing!"

Tai raised an eyebrow. "…come again?"

"I've never been attracted to another guy! Just…you," the blond admitted wistfully, curling up even closer to the darker boy.

"Maybe you're just Tai-sexual," Tai suggested, snickering at the mere thought. Matt raised his own eyebrow and his lips twitched slightly.

"Oh? And just what does it mean to be Tai-sexual?"

"It means that I'm just too sexy for you to resist me!" This statement was met by a snort of disbelief and a roll of the eyes.

"Bull. Shit."

"Oh come on! Can't you just humor me for once?"

"Doubt it."

"Bitch," Tai said with a frown. Matt merely shrugged in response.

"Maybe?"

"Ngh."

"Hey, Tai?"

"What?" Tai stopped sulking briefly and looked up into the bright blue eyes of his beautiful one.

"What are you?" Matt asked quickly, immediately kicking himself mentally for how ridiculous it sounded.

"…human? Well, actually," Tai paused in his speaking, staring up at the ceiling as if he were challenging it himself. "Sora's often claimed that I was possessed by aliens when we were in kindergarten this one time under the slide in the sandbox, so I'm not too sure anymore. But as far as the rest of the world is concerned, I'm just Tai. But somehow I doubt that's what you meant, am I right?"

"For once in your life, you're absolutely right," the American agreed.

"So what did you mean then since I was way off-base?" the brown-eyed boy urged him to continue.

"Well…basically…are you my boyfriend?" The question came out quietly and almost unsurely. Tai tilted his head to the side, looking at the blond boy on top of him in wonderment.

"Well…that really depends. Do you want me to be?" he asked gently, so not to scare the other boy off.

"…yes," the American replied just as gently. Tai grinned widely and had to prevent himself from jumping up right then and there and doing a victory dance.

'_Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Taichi wins! Woohoo!'_ His mind screamed, suddenly feeling like his heart would burst.

"Tai?" Oh yeah, he probably should answer Matt instead of celebrating with himself.

"Yes," he replied quickly, causing Matt to lift up the upper half of his body and seemingly tower over Tai's.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I'm your boyfriend then. After all, it's what we both want, so why not?" Tai reasoned and looked at the blue-eyed boy closely. A smile slowly spread onto Matt's face, turning into a fit of giggles.

"Tai, you're the best," he said before wrapping his arms around the brunet tightly. Tai smiled down at the tuft of blond hair, kissing it lightly.

"Then maybe you should look in the mirror," he countered back playfully.

"Hmm, all I'd see is a-"

"Beautiful, intelligent, wonderful, and feisty creature?" Tai cut him off before Matt could bring himself down.

"Wow…none of those started with the same letter," Matt commented and shook his head.

"I could say one word to describe you using every letter of the alphabet!" Tai looked extremely proud of himself.

"Could you now?" Matt challenged, looking rather skeptical about the whole concept.

"Mmhmm..." Tai nuzzled his nose against Matt's cheek.

"Prove it," Matt said, sitting up with his legs on either side of Tai's body. Tai sat up a bit, propping his body up with his elbow and donning a thoughtful expression.

"Well, where do I start?" he asked rhetorically.

"A would be nice," Matt answered anyway.

"Amazing," Tai started off, leaning forward and pressing a sweet kiss to Matt's lips. "Beautiful, as already stated." Kiss. "Cockteaseable." Kiss.

"Cockteaseable?" the blond repeated, unsure of whether to be flattered or repulsed.

"You are. Do you have any idea what it's like to know somebody's gay and be that close to you, but you can't touch them?" Tai explained himself.

"Can't say I have," Matt replied honestly.

"Well there ya go, Cocktease. Now quiet, you're interrupting my ABC's."

"Sorry." Tai nodded and picked up right where he left off.

"Desirable." Kiss. "Exciting." Kiss. "Feisty, as stated." Kiss. "Gay!" Tai couldn't help but cackle at his own joke.

"You just love announcing that I'm gay, don't you?" Matt deadpanned.

"Indeed I do." Tai grinned wickedly and continued his alphabet. "Hot, although that should be obviously. Intelligent, as said. Juicy."

"Juicy?"

"Your lips are anyway."

"Hey, you stopped kissing me after each letter!" Matt pouted. Tai merely nodded.

"Yep, cause the next letter is K. And for the letter K, you are Kissable." Tai leaned forward and kissed Matt again, this time longer than the little pecks he had been giving him. Just as Matt started to respond, Tai pulled back just as quickly as he started.

"Now who's the cocktease?" Matt grumbled to the brunet as he laid on Tai's chest again.

"Hmm…still you! Anyway, moving on with my alphabet."

"Fine."

"Luscious." Tai held Matt's hands in his own, stroking the tops of them with his thumbs.

Why luscious?" A tanned hand made its way up Matt's body and into his hair, massaging his scalp soothingly.

"Mostly because of your hair."

"Hmph, figures."

"M is for Matt," Tai abruptly stated.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Matt blinked at the statement.

"It means that you're not Yamato anymore, which is really nice on all of our parts," Tai explained as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"…I suppose you have a point."

"Of course I do. So what letter's next?"

"N," the blond replied.

"Hmm…N…I got it! Neurotic!" Tai shouted and snapped his fingers. The American boy sat upright at this exclamation.

"Neurotic! Do you even know what that means?"

"Hmm…oh wait, oops. That's not the right word," Tai said in realization, looking up at his boyfriend sheepishly.

"So what **is** the right word, Taichi?"

"Narcissistic." The Japanese boy looked rather pleased with himself this time.

"…meaning?"

"Meaning I don't feel like telling you," Tai teased him. Matt growled and pinned Tai down to the bed, staring at him heatedly.

"What does it mean, Taichi?" he repeated himself.

"You really don't know?" the mud-eyed boy stared at him with wide eyes.

"No, I don't!" Matt exploded, becoming rather frustrated with the boy beneath him. Tai bit back a snicker.

"You mean to tell me that I actually know something that you don't?"

"Yes, I'm quite shocked as well," Matt said dryly. "Now are you going to tell me or not?"

"Well…depends on what's in it for me," Tai purred.

"…no more kisses, hugs, or fondling of my body of any kind until you do," Matt threatened, suddenly feeling very powerful while he watched Tai's face change to a look of pure horror.

"You **wouldn't!**" he gasped at the mere idea. An evil glint glimmered in Matt's blue eyes.

"I would," he confirmed.

"Okay, fine, I'll talk! Just don't cut me off from my groping time!" Tai begged, flashing puppy-eyes at Matt.

"That sounded a little…strange…"

"Do you wanna know or not?" Tai snapped suddenly.

"Eep, sorry!" Matt squeaked. Tai nodded in a satisfied manner and pulled Matt back down onto his body.

"Basically, you're in love with yourself."

"Am not!"

"This was why I wasn't going to tell you. You would just deny it," Tai said airily.

"That's not a very nice word for me," Matt protested further.

"Who ever said that all of these words had to be nice?" Tai brought up an interesting point.

"…true," Matt grumbled unhappily. Tai rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Well, since you're whining about it so much, you are outstanding. It starts with an O **and** it's nice," he mocked the blond.

"Thank you!" Matt praised him and grinned. Tai smiled back and continued his alphabet.

"P. P is for…pet!"

"What the **fuck**, Tai!" Matt's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"You are my pet," Tai snickered and poked Matt in the nose.

"Like hell I am!"

"Please?"

"When you manage to get a collar and leash on me, **then** we'll talk about it," Matt negotiated and figured that would be the last of that. Unfortunately, Tai had different ideas.

"That could be arranged," Tai said as he felt around under his bed, soon producing a blue collar and a black leash.

"Should I even ask?"

"Nah. Would you wear them?"

"…maybe." Matt's eyes shifted back and forward. Tai gnawed on his lip and shrugged, setting the pet set down on the floor.

"Fair enough."

"I should hope so." Matt nodded to himself. Tai nodded as well, only less enthusiastic. Matt noticed this and suppressed a groan, knowing that something was running through that (seemingly) empty head that would not be good for his wellbeing. "What…" he was almost afraid to ask. Tai tilted his head to the side and flashed a charming grin, hoping to score some points.

"Will you wear them now?"

"Now?" Matt really did groan this time.

"Pwease?" Tai thrust his lower lip out and allowed his eyes to fill with (fake) tears. Matt sighed deeply and nodded slowly, knowing he was going to regret it.

"Fine." Tai let out a squeal of delight and attached the collar and leash to Matt quick as lightening. Much to the pale boy's surprise, it was actually quite comfortable.

"Okay, now that we're fulfilling your kinky fantasy, continue with your alphabet." He waved a hand in the air signaling his boyfriend to proceed.

"Okay, Q is for quiet. That should be self-explanatory."

"I'm quiet?"

"Compared to me you are," Tai pointed out.

"…good point. Continue," he said with a laugh, beginning to realize how ridiculous the whole thing was.

"Okay. Refined, because you're so much more rounded off than I am. Sarcastic, but it sounds wonderful coming out of your mouth. Talented, but I'm sure you already knew that."

"What do you mean?" Matt interrupted the brunet once again.

"You can write songs, you can sing, you can play guitar, you can ice skate, and you can keep me calm. That alone takes quite a bit of skill."

"Oh." A tiny giggled erupted from Matt's throat. Tai continued once again.

"U…U is for understanding. You can use a bit of work in that department, but you still seem to understand me and my crazy world just fine."

"Including Bob?" Matt asked rhetorically.

"Including Bob." Tai smirked.

"Glad to hear it."

"Variegated. It means complex, and we all know you're a very complex person, Yama. Wild, because you were quite the rebel before you got here. I just hope that you still are." Tai winked.

"Oh trust me, I am," Matt retorted, choosing to ignore Tai's double meaning.

"XXX."

"…excuse me?"

"Well, there's really no word for you that starts with X. However, triple X stands for porno, and trust me, Yama, you're **definitely** porn star material," Tai ranted shamelessly, enjoying the guilty pleasure he received from watching Matt's face turn red.

"I don't know about that…" Matt started to disagree.

"This is my alphabet. Let me live in my fantasy land."

"Ookay then."

"Y is for the obvious, Yama. Because I shall call you Yama and you shall be mine and you shall be my Yama and my Yama you shall be," Tai recited from memory.

"…Finding Nemo?"

"Mmhmm. And Z…Z is for zealous."

"What do you mean zealous?" Matt questioned. He knew what the word meant and all, but he was unaware of how it related to him and Tai.

"You're zealous about our relationship. And so am I," he replied. Matt nodded and inhaled deeply, feeling comforted by Tai's familiar scent.

"So that's all of the letters," he commented lightly, almost afraid to break the comforting aura around them.

"Now I've said Yama's ABCs, so I'm hoping he'll fuck me," Tai sang with a silly grin, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Matt snorted back his laughter and rolled his eyes.

"Not on your life. At least, not right now."

"I can wait."

"Good. You'll be waiting for a while."

"Hmm, just remember who's the master," Tai reminded him, grabbing a hold of Matt's leash tightly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"You're my bitch." The brunet smiled widely.

"Oh hell no!" Matt squawked, wriggling away suddenly.

"I'm kidding, calm down!" Tai said, tightening his hold on the leash. Matt sighed and stopped struggling.

"I'm done."

"Good." Tai wrapped the leash around his fingers and kissed Matt suddenly. Matt took initiative and deepened the kiss, flicking his tongue near the corners of Tai's mouth. Tai prodded at Matt's lips with his own tongue, parting his lips slightly just in case. Seizing the opportunity, Matt parted his own lips and thrusted his tongue into Tai's mouth. The leash was tugged this way and that and one of them moaned. They couldn't decipher which one it was. Just then, the door banged open.

"Hey, Tai, where's my-what the hell is going on here?" Daisuke exclaimed, his eyes widening three times their size and his finger pointing accusingly. The two boys pulled away from one another and looked at their position, Tai on the bed, Matt on all fours on top of Tai's chest, and the leash clutched tightly in Tai's grip.

"Nice," Kiseki said with a wolf-whistle, smiling coyly at the couple on the bed. The two older boys didn't move, but rather made themselves more comfortable.

"As you were saying, Dais?" Tai asked calmly, wrapping his arms around Matt's middle. Daisuke shook his head and sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Never mind…just what is going on with you…and you…together…**that's my bed!**" he shrieked at the realization. Kiseki snickered and rolled his eyes.

"I think what Daisuke's trying to ask is if you two are together yet," he translated, leaning his head on the shorter boy's shoulder.

"Ohhh. Well then, yep!" Tai announced happily, leaving Matt to nod in agreement.

"It's about freakin time!" Both younger boys shouted simultaneously.

"Neh, blame the closeted one."

"I'm not closeted!" Matt shouted indignantly.

"You were up until I said my Yama-bet!" Tai shouted back.

"Why are you yelling at me?"

"You're yelling back!"

"Only because you made a false claim against me first!"

"Like hell I did!" Daisuke and Kiseki looked at the two boys before looking at each other and shrugging.

"Maybe we should come back some other time?" Kiseki left the question in the air as he loosely wrapped an arm around Daisuke's waist.

"Yeah maybe we should," Daisuke agreed, pushing Kiseki's arm away. The older boy pouted slightly but dropped his arm back to his side.

"Look, just say what you want and **then** you can leave," Tai said exasperatedly.

"I was looking for my wallet…" Daisuke mumbled. Tai reached under the bed once again and chucked the blue wallet at his little brother.

"Hey Dais, I'm kicking you out so Yama can move back in okay? Kay thanks, bye." Tai waved them away and rolled onto his side, dragging Matt along with him.

"Tai, be nice," Matt scolded and swatted the other boy behind the head. "Daisuke, you don't have to move out if you don't want to," he said to the other boy.

"Well, where would I go?" Daisuke asked.

"Move in with your kissing partner," Tai said airily. Daisuke balled up his fists at the comment.

"Um, you could have your old room back," Matt said hastily before things got out of hand between the Yagami-Motomiya brothers.

"You sure?" the mahogany-haired boy asked doubtfully. The blond nodded and subconsciously snuggled closer into Tai.

"Yeah, it's not a problem. We can move everything around after dinner, kay?"

"Sure…c'mon 'Seki," Daisuke said slowly, pulling the black-haired boy by the wrist towards the door.

"Hold on, Dais," Tai stopped him, suddenly sitting up on the bed. "Matt and I want to talk to Kiseki for a moment."

"We do?" Blue eyes blinked in confusion. A tanned elbow nudged into his ribs sharply, getting a squeak of protest out of the American boy.

"Yes, we do," Tai reminded him darkly.

"Okay," Matt squeaked again, visibly shrinking from Tai's menacing stare. Tai nodded and grinned, dropping the scary look and looking back at the other two boys.

"So basically, we'll send him to come find you in a sec." Tai nodded. Kiseki sent Daisuke a side-glance and Daisuke bit his lip.

"Well…"

"I'll meet you in the hall, Daisuke. I think I know what this is about," Kiseki smiled assuredly, although somewhere in his eyes was the hint that he knew **exactly** what Tai wanted. With a sigh, Daisuke slowly and albeit reluctantly made his way out the door and shut it behind him, leaving the three older boys alone in the privacy of the room.

"Sit down," Tai pointed to his own bed. Kiseki obediently sat down, awaiting Tai's speech.

"I need you to fuck my brother," the brunet started out. Magenta and blue eyes went wide.

"Excuse me?" Kiseki stared at him in shock.

"Tai, what the hell is that going to accomplish?" Matt asked flatly. The mud-eyed boy chuckled amusedly and shrugged.

"Well, I wasn't actually serious, so I dunno. Point being, what are you planning to do with my brother?" Tai focused his attention on the black and green-haired boy. Kiseki didn't answer right away, staring Tai directly in the eye. It was quiet for a few moments, Tai staring Kiseki down, Kiseki remaining calm and quiet, and Matt just being out of the loop all together.

"What do you mean?" the younger boy finally spoke, not even bothering to blink.

"You kissed him and now confused him beyond all belief. Are you going to date him or not?" Tai broke it down for him, beginning to lose his patience.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Matt exploded. Kiseki turned his head and looked at the pale boy.

"You didn't know if you wanted to date Tai, did you?"

"I, um-that's totally, er-" Matt faltered at the question.

"Look, Kiseki, this isn't about me and/or Matt. This is about you and Daisuke," Tai stepped in once he noticed that Matt wasn't getting anywhere.

"Why does it matter, Taichi?" Kiseki kept up the cool façade.

"You…are going to die a slow and painful death if you don't stop being an ignorant moron," the wrathful brunet warned the other boy.

"Ignorant? About what?" Kiseki finally blinked.

"The fact that Daisuke actually has a crush on you!" Matt broke into the conversation again.

"What makes you think that he does?" Kiseki challenged.

"Because I'm his brother?" Tai said in a 'duh' sort of tone.

"And because it's written across his face," Matt added.

"But he told me he didn't!" Kiseki argued back.

"Well, Matt told me he didn't like me and he still did!"

"I thought you said that this wasn't about you and/or me!"

"Whatever, I needed to prove a point."

"Hey, guys! Stop fighting and pay attention to me!" Kiseki shouted, successfully pulling both older boys out of their little tiff. "Look, I don't know if I'm going to believe that Daisuke has a crush on me."

"Well he does. It's just one of those things that so obvious to everybody else except for the two people involved," Tai rationalized and ran his fingers through Matt's hair lazily.

"Pretty much. I mean, didn't people realize that you and I should have been together long before we realized it?" Matt recalled thoughtfully, leaning into Tai's touch.

"Hmm, Sora realized it. That's why we came up with our plan," Tai replied. Matt suddenly jerked away and stared at his boyfriend.

"What plan?" he inquired, his voice laced with suspicion. It was then Tai knew that he had messed up.

"Um…well, you see," he began, laughing nervously as Matt's glare deepened.

"What plan, Taichi?" the blue-eyed boy repeated himself.

"Well…SoraandIcameupwiththeideatopretendlikewewereflirtingwitheachothertomakeyoujealousandtomakeyounoticemeandthenhopefullycometolikeme," Tai said all in one breath. Matt blinked once, blinked twice, and punched Tai in the shoulder.

"You ass! What'd you do that for?" both boys shouted together.

"Because you deserved it!" Matt replied haughtily, staring down the other boy.

"And because you were too closeted!" Tai argued back.

"For the last time, I was and am not closeted!"

"You are too!"

"Not!"

"Too!" Kiseki chose that moment to sneak out of the room quickly and quietly, shutting the door behind him.

"Not and that is final!" Matt huffed and pouted.

"Okay." Tai shrugged.

"Wait, that's it?" Matt stopped in his tracks, staring at his boyfriend in disbelief.

"Yep!"

"…you lost me."

"Look, Yama, I just wanted to make Kiseki get annoyed with us so that he would leave."

"Why…?"

"So that way, I could do this," Tai announced before pouncing on top of the blond's boy, indulging his neck and face with kisses.

"Tai," Matt whined, trying to restrain himself from returning Tai's affection. Tai continued assaulting the pale flesh, lightly nipping near Matt's Adam's apple.

"Tai…" the blue-eyed boy whimpered again, tilting his head back and allowing the tanned boy more access to the skin. Tai ran his hands along Matt's hips, ghosting his fingers around the waistband of the other boy's pants. His lips magnetized onto Matt's, as his fingers began to work on unbuttoning the other boy's shirt. The American boy knew he was enjoying this more than he should, but he couldn't help but let a small moan escape his mouth as he felt Tai's tongue slip into it. The shirt was soon removed, exposing Matt's chest to the air as the battle for dominance continued with their tongues. They allowed their tongues to wrestle inside their mouths, pushing, pulling, tangling. Tai pulled his lips away slowly, staring at Matt with the lust-laced eyes he was so familiar with.

"Tai…what are you doing?" the blond whispered softly, shivering slightly under the dark stare.

"I'm not sure," Tai whispered back, slowly dipping his head down towards Matt's pants. Matt felt all of his senses heighten at the sudden change of direction, stiffening in more ways than one. Tai opened his mouth and applied pressure with his tongue on the button. The top of the pants came undone and he grabbed the zipper of Matt's pants with his teeth, pulling it down with ease. He removed the clothing from Matt's legs, staring down at the semi-familiar milky skin and tugging at the waistband of blue boxers contemplatively. It wasn't like he'd never seen it before but now, it was a different perspective. Now instead of admiring the body of the one he couldn't have, he was relishing in the sight of the one he could easily manipulate. He had the power in the palm of his hand. He was on top of a sexy blond who was almost naked …and vulnerable. He could easily take him right at that very moment.

But no, he wasn't going to do that. He wasn't like Haru. He just had to remember that.

"Tai?" Matt called out to him quietly, bringing him back to the present time and day. Brown eyes blinked suddenly and tanned hands dropped away from the boxers on the American boy.

"Sorry, Yama," he apologized quickly and averted his eyes. Matt tilted his head slightly and blinked at the sudden change in his boyfriend.

"Why did you stop?" The question left his lips before he could comprehend what he was actually saying. The brunet shrugged and sighed quietly.

"Look…Yama, I really like you, a lot. I just don't want to move so fast that it ruins what we have right now, y'know? I mean…I don't wanna scare you or pressure you into…oh what the hell am I saying? I think I'm more likely to scare you off because I don't know what to do or-"

"Tai, you're babbling," Matt broke into Tai's train of thoughts cautiously. Tai stopped talking immediately and looked into the bright blue eyes of his boyfriend.

"I know. Sorry about that," he apologized and offered a small grin.

"No problem," Matt replied and shivered again. After all, it was drafty in the room and he was no longer wearing clothes. Tai's arms wrapped themselves tighter around the thin frame.

"When I said that I was falling in love with you, I wasn't exaggerating. I really do think I am."

"Wait, you said you already were in love with me!" Matt's head shot up from the pillow.

"I know…but then I got to thinking and well…think about it, Yama. We're 15 years old. I mean, what do **we** really know about love right? I can easily go around proclaiming the fact that I'm absolutely head over heels for you, but do you realize how many people are going to tell us that we're not in love, just because we're so young?" Tai philosophized as his head replaced Matt's on the pillow.

"Yeah I guess so…but still, as long as we know, screw the rest of the world," Matt scoffed. Tai shook his head and sighed again.

"I just want to make sure that our relationship is more than psychical stuff, that's all. Besides, there will be plenty of time for that kind of stuff later, if we really do love each other that much by then," he replied half-heartedly and closed his eyes, signaling the end of the conversation.

"Which I think we will," Matt stated enthusiastically.

"Hmm…didn't we come up here for a reason like a long time ago?" Tai swiftly changed the subject, stifling a yawn at the end of his sentence.

"Oh…yeah. Guess I should get it over with huh?" the blond mumbled and took the phone from Tai's hand.

"Mmh." Tai made another incoherent noise and snuggled deeper into the pillow, watching his boyfriend now through half-lidded eyes. Matt used one hand to hold and dial the number for his phone card and he used the other to give Tai a scalp massage. Tai continued making small pleasurable noises as Matt's nimble fingers traveled through his hair and the blue-eyed boy continued connecting his call.

"You have to be quiet okay?" Matt said to the brunet as soon as he heard the ringing. Tai nodded lazily and continued purring. Matt smiled slightly and focused on the phone call.

"Hello?" Hiroaki's voice came through on the other side of the line.

"Hey, Dad," Matt greeted his father cautiously. There was a slight pause in the conversation, almost as though Hiroaki couldn't believe that his son had called him.

"Hi, Matt. Why are you calling me at 5:30 in the morning?"

"Oh shit! I forgot about the time difference, I'm **so** sorry!" the American boy started to apologize profusely.

"It's all right; I had to get up right about now for work anyway. What's going on?" Hiroaki said through a yawn.

"I was just curious…how're things at home? You haven't mentioned Clarice much lately," Matt replied, getting straight to the point of the phone call.

"…I'm surprised you noticed."

"Of course I did. Just because I'm not living there any more doesn't mean I'm not paying attention." Matt straightened up and stopped rubbing Tai's head, much to the other boy's protest.

"Well you never know, Matt. You never know," Hiroaki said in return. Tai opened his eyes all the way and whimpered quietly at the loss of contact. Matt sent him a sharp look and shook his head, focusing on his father once more.

"Anyways…what happened? Anything I should know about? Since I haven't checked in with you guys since Christmas," the blond rationalized.

"Actually…yes. I'm sure it's going to be something good for you though."

"You and Clarice got a divorce?" Matt blurted out before he could let his father finish.

"…yes. But how did you know that?" Hiroaki asked suspiciously.

"I saw it coming a little while back," Matt quickly lied. "You don't sound very depressed about it either."

"If you knew the whole story, you'd see why I'm actually relieved."

"So tell me the story." Matt leaned against the wall, making himself comfortable.

"Unfortunately, you were right. She was a gold-digger," Hiroaki began.

"See I told you so!" Matt shouted suddenly.

"Yes, I know. Not to mention she's been committing adultery for the past few months," Hiroaki stated casually, as though it didn't surprise him that his ex-wife had been cheating on him. Matt blinked at the revelation. Tai, who was leaning on Matt's shoulder so that he could hear both sides of the conversation, looked rather puzzled.

"Yama, what's adultery?" he asked his blue-eyed lover as he dropped his head into Matt's lap.

"Shh," Matt whispered back.

"Matt? Who are you talking to?" Hiroaki came back into the picture.

"Myself. Anyway, that's great to know, Dad. So she's out of our lives forever huh?" Matt questioned rhetorically. Tai proceeded to nuzzle his head into Matt's hand and stomach, begging to be pet. "Stop that!" he hissed again.

"Yes, she's out of our lives," Hiroaki answered. Tai moved his head again, resting on Matt's shoulder once more. He leaned over and started nuzzling Matt's neck with his nose, causing the other boy to twitch.

"That's great to hear. So are you seeing anybody new? Or are you going to wait for 10 years before you start dating again like you did after you and Mom divorced?" Matt inquired curiously, albeit sarcastically. He wriggled again as Tai's hot breath danced across his skin.

"No, not right now," Hiroaki replied back. "Were you worried?"

"Maybe." Matt swatted at Tai's head, hoping the mud-eyed boy would back off a bit. No such luck.

"Well, don't worry about it. It's going to go back to being just you and me." Matt heard Hiroaki talking but didn't really focus on what he was saying. Although, that may have been because Tai decided to start biting on his neck again.

"Glad to hear it," he struggled to keep his voice level as Tai continued sucking on his neck.

"Those were my thoughts. And we don't need relationships right now anyway, now do we?"

"Um, no, of course not!" Matt replied as his voice rose one octave.

"Are you all right?" Hiroaki sounded concerned suddenly. Tai grinned evilly and moved one hand down towards Matt's crotch again, sensually rubbing his inner thigh while assaulting his neck.

"Eh, yeah, just fi-ow!" Matt suddenly cried out as Tai bit down a little too hard.

"All right, Matt, what's going on over there?" Tai continued playing his game, suckling and rubbing, teasing and taunting. Matt felt himself harden slightly and growled at his boyfriend.

"Um, Dad? I think I'm gonna have to call you back, bye," he said quickly and hung up.

"About time," Tai muttered around the skin between his teeth.

"Oh shut up," Matt scolded and kissed Tai just as fiercely, the phone call remaining forgotten for the time being.

* * *

"Okay," Kiseki started off suddenly, sitting on Matt's, or now Daisuke's, bed. 

"Okay what?" the mahogany-haired boy looked up questioning, licking some of the ice cream bar in his hand.

"Where'd you get that?" Kiseki blinked, nodding his head to indicate the ice cream bar.

"The dining hall? They were giving them out during lunch." Daisuke continued nibbling on his treat.

"Dais…it's almost six," Kiseki reminded his friend.

"And?"

"And you're just now eating it?"

"Mmhmm…is that a problem?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow, taking another lick. Kiseki watched the younger boy quietly. Daisuke's tongue swirled around the ice cream, lapping at it delicately. Kiseki bit the inside of his cheek as Daisuke shoved the whole ice cream bar into his mouth, seemingly deep-throating it.

'_Well…it _**could**_ be a problem very soon.'_ The black-haired male shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Nah, just wondering," he said.

"…okay? Is that all you have to say?" Daisuke asked as he pulled the ice cream bar out of his mouth.

"Yeah," the other boy said quickly, hoping to erase any of the awkwardness he felt at that moment. Unfortunately, that just aroused more awkwardness as Daisuke stared at his friend intently.

"Are you sure?" Daisuke asked again. Kiseki opened his mouth to reply that yes, he was sure, but suddenly Tai's voice entered his head.

'_You…are going to die a slow and painful death if you don't stop being an ignorant moron.'_ Shortly after that, Matt's voice came into his head as well.

'_Daisuke actually has a crush on you!'_ Kiseki groaned quietly and looked back at Daisuke.

"Actually…no. We have some other things to talk about."

"Somehow I thought so," Daisuke replied with a slurp of his ice cream. "So what's up?" Kiseki sighed and sprawled out on the bed. Daisuke got up from his position at the desk and sat on the bed near Kiseki's feet.

"Look…this is going to make me sound uber-retarded and like a major ass, but I have to say this. I've been lying to you since the day we met," the magenta-eyed boy spilled out. Daisuke stared at his companion quietly, unsure of what to say. He lowered his gaze and stared at the bedspread instead.

"How so?" he questioned quietly. Kiseki sat up slightly and loosely draped an arm around Daisuke's shoulders. To both of their surprise, the younger boy curled up closer into Kiseki's side as he waited patiently for an answer.

"Well…let's start off with the obvious. I **am** gay, despite what I said earlier." Kiseki fiddled with his shoelace as he spoke. Daisuke's eyes widened and he frowned.

"I **knew** it! Why didn't you just come out and say that instead of that shit about being open-minded? That would have made both of our lives a lot easier and gah, why didn't you just tell me?" Daisuke exploded without warning. Kiseki's lips drew themselves into a thin line as he kept his gaze on the far wall.

"Because that's why I'm at this school in the first place," he retorted, his voice hollow and far-off. That made the cinnamon-eyed boy calm down a reasonable amount.

"What do you mean?"

"Basically, Toushi's entire family is homophobic…so when they caught me with my…um…boyfriend, they got pissed off in a major way and sent me here. They were hoping that it was a mental disorder that could be fixed here. Well, they've been trying for the past three years and, haha guess what, I'm still here!" Kiseki finished off bitterly.

"…so they sent you here in hopes that you'd become straight?" Daisuke questioned unsurely.

"Yep."

"Well that's stupid," he said flatly. Kiseki nodded and chewed on his thumbnail.

"I guess…"

"Wait, I thought you said that they sent you here because of your psychic abilities?"

"Well yeah that's what I said, but it's not true," Kiseki answered.

"So they don't care about you being a psychic?" Daisuke completely missed the whole point. Kiseki smiled sadly and rubbed the top of Daisuke's head lovingly.

"Dais, they sent me here for other reasons other than my gay tendencies," he started to explain.

"Why else?" the tanned boy pressed on for answers. Kiseki bit his lip uncertainly.

'_He's going to hate me, isn't he?'_ he thought idly as he studied the smaller boy for a while longer. He knew that as soon as he told Daisuke the truth, he wouldn't want anything to do with him.

'_Dear God, please don't let him hate me forever.'_ He silently prayed before beginning his explanation.

"Daisuke…I haven't told you…"

"Told me what?" Daisuke questioned, blinking innocently at his companion.

'_Fuck, he's making this harder than it has to be.'_ The green and black-haired boy felt guilt eating away at his insides.

"I'm a pathological liar. That's why they sent me here, for real," he finally got to his point. He felt Daisuke go rigid suddenly and it was then he knew he lost it.

"…so you've been lying to me this whole time."

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Daisuke sat up and pushed himself away from Kiseki.

"You asshole! Why the hell would you lie to me?" Daisuke's eyes narrowed angrily.

"I…really don't know, actually. It just kind of slipped out, y'know?"

"But then how did you know…everything?"

"Intuitive, love, pure and plain intuitive," Kiseki responded in an airy tone. Daisuke swallowed hard and glared at him again.

"Don't call me that," he spoke quietly.

"Call you what?"

"Love…I'm not your love." Daisuke shook his head to reinforce the statement.

"Why are you so upset?"

"What's that suppose to mean? I'm upset because some guy who I thought was completely awesome has been lying to me since we first met!"

"I'm sorry okay? Truly, I am," Kiseki said in an attempt to calm down the tanned boy. Daisuke's lower lip quivered and he averted his eyes. "What else is upsetting you, beautiful?" Kiseki questioned even further. Daisuke's eyes snapped up once again at the use of the pet name. He licked his dry lips and looked Kiseki straight in the eye.

"I'm upset because of what you did to me," he whispered quietly, afraid that his voice would soon betray him.

"And what exactly did I do to you?" Kiseki quirked an eyebrow.

"You should know," Daisuke argued back.

"Okay, you make it sound like I raped you. What did I do that was so terrible?"

"You made me bi," Daisuke mumbled incoherently.

"Say what?" Kiseki asked.

"You made me bi!" Daisuke exclaimed louder, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation.

"Did I now? That's rather interesting," Kiseki said nonchalantly.

"That's all you have to say about it?" Daisuke screamed again, nearly going into hysterics about how calm Kiseki really was.

"Well, what else would you like me to say?" Kiseki inquired, leaning back against the wall quietly.

"I-er, well…um-I don't really know," the other boy finally concluded.

"Exactly." Kiseki shifted and faced Daisuke. "Look, if you want me to say that I like you too, then I can do that. Because I really do like you too, Dais." Daisuke snorted at the revelation.

"Right, like I'm going to believe that coming out of the mouth of a **liar!**" he proclaimed. Kiseki sighed heavily and buried his head in his hands.

"What do I have to do to make you believe me on this one?" he asked half-seriously, half-rhetorically. Daisuke sniffed and shrugged.

"Dunno. I don't want to believe you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a liar?"

"Can we please get passed the liar concept? Look, I swear I lie about retarded stuff…and you're not retarded, I promise." Kiseki reached out and cupped Daisuke's face in his hand. The younger boy smacked the hand away and snarled slightly.

"Don't, Kiseki. Just…stop." His voice started shaking and so did his hands.

"Why would you want me to stop? You like me just as much as I like you." Kiseki smiled knowingly.

"Do not."

"Now who's the liar?"

"It's not a lie. It's called changing my mind after finding out I can't trust you."

"Dais, I really think you're overreacting about this whole thing," Kiseki voiced his opinion. Daisuke's lower lip continued quivering and his eyes suddenly became overly shiny.

"How would you feel if somebody you trusted suddenly came out and said he lied about everything?" he counted back.

"Okay so I was in the wrong at that point. But I'm telling you the truth right now, aren't I?"

"…I don't know," Daisuke whimpered and a few of his tears spilled over. Kiseki frowned and pulled his friend closer.

"Oh come on, Dais. If you would just forgive me and believe me now, we wouldn't have anything to be fighting over and we could be dating," he reasoned.

"What if I don't want to date you?" Daisuke hiccupped and rubbed his eyes harshly.

"And why wouldn't you?"

"Because you're a boy."

"Not this again," Kiseki groaned. "Dai, screw it. Or better yet, screw me! You like me, I like you, who cares that we both have dicks?"

"I care!"

"Well you should stop caring. Please? For me?" Kiseki drew Daisuke closer to him, brushing a gentle kiss across his lips. Daisuke whimpered again, clinging to Kiseki tightly.

"I don't know if I can," he said honestly. Kiseki smiled and shrugged.

"We can try, can't we?"

"Maybe…but I don't know how much I can trust you now."

"Try…that's all I'm asking." Kiseki kissed the top of Daisuke's head, stroking his hair lightly. Daisuke's body went limp against Kiseki's and he closed his eyes, massaging his temples.

"We can try…but you can't hurt me. That's all I ask," he said, dropping his hand into his lap and opening his eyes to look into Kiseki's.

"I'll do my best not to," Kiseki promised.

"Thank you…" Daisuke sat up and pulled away from Kiseki's grasp momentarily. "Ugh, I should kick Tai and Matt out of the other room so I can pack up and move back into this one," he said as an afterthought.

"That would be wise, I suppose," Kiseki agreed and pushed himself off of the bed. "Want some help?"

"With getting off of the bed or with the packing and unpacking?" Daisuke answered back with a question.

"Both." Kiseki held out a hand. Daisuke looked at it thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side slightly. He studied Kiseki's facial expression, looking for any hints of deceiving trickery. All he saw was the perfect smile and that was all it took.

Daisuke reached for his hand and grabbed it, holding on tightly and securely.

* * *

That night, the four boys (Tai, Matt, Daisuke, and Kiseki) moved Matt back into Tai's room and Daisuke back into the single room. The next morning, everything seemed to be perfect in their world. 

But of course, because their lives were going well all at the same time, somebody had to rain on one of their parades, that one being Matt.

"Yama, you wanna come with me?" Tai asked as he struggled to tie his shoes and tie at the same time.

"Where?" Matt replied as he grabbed his bag off of the floor.

"Nurse's office. I need to take my schizo meds before breakfast, remember?" the brunet stated and stood up to his full height now that his shoes were on.

"Yeah, that's true. Sure, might as well go with ya." Matt walked towards the door, dragging Tai behind him. The two of them made their way down to Jenatsu's office. Tai barged in through the door.

"Morning, Jen!" he chirped and hopped onto the cot in the room, smiling at the blonde nurse.

"Hello, Tai. And hello Yamato since you're hiding in the doorway," she said with a smile. Matt slipped into the room and shut the door.

"Hi, Jen," Matt greeted her and stood next to his boyfriend.

"Tai dragged you here?"

"Pretty much." Matt shrugged while Tai grabbed a bottle of pills out of the cabinet, downing two of them with a glass of water.

"Okay, Jen, we're out. See ya!" Tai waved with one hand and used the other to grab Matt's wrist. He flung the door open and the two boys walked out, running straight into a taller man with brown hair, blue eyes, and wire-frame glasses.

"In a rush, Tai?" the older male grinned down at the two teens.

"Sorry, Dr. Daiamante, we didn't see you there," Tai explained and, much to Matt's surprise, bowed slightly at the presence of the doctor.

"You're fine; I just need to speak to Jen." Dr. Daiamante brushed past them and spotted the female.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Jenatsu asked, bowing slightly as well.

"I need to locate a student by the name of Ishida Yamato," Dr. Daiamante explained. All three of the other people in the room looked at Matt, looked back at Dr. Daiamante, and then at each other.

"Um…that's Yamato right there," Jenatsu said and pointed to the blond male. Dr. Daiamante turned back and looked at the blue-eyed boy, examining him closely.

"Well, Mr. Ishida, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, extending his hand out for Matt to shake. The pale American shook hands with the older man and dropped his hand back to his side quickly.

"What exactly do you need me for, sir?" he questioned the doctor.

"Someone said that you needed to come in and see me for your testing," Dr. Daiamante explained.

"My **what?**"

"Don't worry about it, Matt. Everybody here goes through it," Tai stepped in and took over. "What time would you like to see him, Dr. D?"

"Any time before noon works out well."

"He can be in at 10."

"Excellent," Dr. Daiamante agreed and nodded. "See you at 10 then, Yamato," he bid the blond goodbye and stepped out of the room again, walking down the hall. As soon as the doctor was out of hearing range, Matt turned back to his boyfriend and glared.

"What the hell, Taichi?" he growled, grabbing the other boy by the tie.

"Hmm?" Tai hummed lazily, allowing Matt to drag him out of Jenatsu's office and into the hallway.

"What did you just do?"

"Nothing."

"Liar. What was Dr. Daiamante talking about?" Matt demanded, holding a steady glare over Tai. Tai grinned suddenly.

"You're really cute when you're mad," he decided and kissed Matt on the tip of the nose. The American boy blinked at the sudden show of affection and smiled softly. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be angry.

"…don't change the subject!" he exclaimed once he got his senses back. "What was Dr. Daiamante talking about?" Matt repeated himself. Tai slipped an arm around Matt's waist and guided the other boy down the stairs towards the dining hall.

"Well, every year or so, every student at the academy who is thought to or is known to have a mental disorder gets a 'check-up' from Dr. D. He's a specialist they brought in a few years ago. So obviously somebody wants you to get checked out, so I made you an appointment."

"I hate you," Matt stated calmly.

"Why?" Tai cocked his head at the notion.

"Because you made me get an appointment. And I hate doctors with the fiery passion of ten thousand suns."

"Oh come on now, it can't be that bad, now can it?" Matt glared at his boyfriend again.

"Yes. It can. Now shut up, I hate you right now."

"But-"

"Shut **up**, Taichi."

"…okay," Tai sighed and walked into the dining hall, leaving Matt to sulk by himself.

* * *

Matt had decided that he wasn't going to speak to Tai until after his appointment was over. It was already 9:45 am and he was doing a pretty good job of ignoring the brunet. 

Of course, said brunet was unhappy with the fact that his boyfriend was ignoring him. Because of this, he refused to leave blond alone and he was going to use every technique he knew to make the other boy talk.

"Taichi! Will you please remove your hand from Yamato's shirt?" Naku asked pointedly, tapping her foot against the ground while she stared the brown-eyed boy down.

"But you see, Naku, the only reason my hand is in his shirt to begin with is-" Tai's explanation was cut short by a knock on the door. Reluctantly, Tai removed his hand from Yama's shirt and Naku answered the door. Standing on the other side was the school secretary, Kirei.

"Sorry to bother you, Naku, but may I borrow Yamato for a while? Kuttaku is ready for him," Kirei clarified. Naku looked at Matt and nodded towards Kirei.

"Go ahead, Matt. I'll help you catch up with your work later," Naku coaxed him to follow the secretary. Matt packed up his bag carefully, pushing himself away from his desk and following Kirei out the door.

"So…where am I going exactly?" Matt questioned cautiously as he shifted his bag on his shoulder.

"Dr. Daiamante said that you have an appointment scheduled with him at 10."

"Ugh…yeah," Matt sighed. Kirei shot him an amused smile.

"Don't stress about it. It's not as horrible as it sounds, honest."

"Suuure it's not," Matt grumbled, following Kirei into the office. Kirei set a hand on Matt's shoulder and guided him into a waiting room.

"Dr. Daiamante will call you in when he's ready for you," she told the blue-eyed boy.

"Actually, Dr. Daiamante is ready for him now," Dr. Daiamante interrupted the two of them, appearing in the doorway of his office. "Come on in, Yamato," he directed to the American, ushering him inside and shutting the door. Matt looked around the office, eyeing the chairs, desk, and couch in the room.

"Where would you like me to sit?" Matt inquired, looking back up at Dr. Daiamante.

"Anywhere you'd like," Dr. Daiamante replied and sat in his own office chair. Matt chose the couch in front of the desk and sat down, waiting patiently while the doctor pulled out a file.

"So…what am I suppose to do, Dr. Daiamante?" he asked, glancing around the room at the items on the walls.

"First of all, just call me Dr. D. It's a lot easier," Dr. Daiamante said with a grin as he grabbed a pen from his desk drawer and opened the file, beginning to write out a few notes. "As for what to do, I'm sure Tai's already explained what the main purpose of this visit is."

"To psychoanalyze me, correct?"

"Roughly, yes." Matt nodded at this and leaned back against the couch, studying Dr. Daiamante up and down.

"How long is this going to take?" he asked, not all that curious to find out.

"However long it takes really," Dr. Daiamante answered and motioned for Matt to stand up. "Shall we begin?" Matt nodded again and got off of the couch, standing in front of the desk patiently.

"Can I ask you a question though?"

"Go right ahead." Dr. Daiamante didn't bother looking up from his notes yet.

"Who decided to have you check up on me?"

"One of your teachers. Of course, due to the policy of anonymity, I can't let you know which one," Dr. Daiamante informed him.

"Neh, that's fine. But tell me this," Matt paused, leaning forward and resting his palms on the desktop. "Do they think I'm mentally deficient?" Dr. Daiamante stopped writing briefly but didn't raise his head. He remained in that position for a few moments before looking up.

"Why no, I believe they don't," he replied slowly and stood up from his own desk. "Let's see if they're correct, shall we?"

"All right."

* * *

"So I noticed that Kiseki's clinging to you like a fly to flypaper," Tai said casually as he and Daisuke walked out of Naku's class. The black-haired boy they were talking about had already taken off for parts unknown with a promise that he would see Daisuke at lunch. 

"Well, yeah…" Daisuke trailed off, zipping his backpack closed as he walked. Tai waited for him to offer more information, but Daisuke kept quiet.

"What's up?" the older brunet prodded.

"Nothing," the younger replied quickly, too quickly for Tai's liking.

"Hahaha, yeah right. What happened after you and Kiseki left mine and Yama's room?" Tai questioned, turning left to go down another hall.

"We talked…" Daisuke followed his brother and fell into stride with him.

"And?"

"And **what**, Tai?" Daisuke snapped.

"What happened?" Tai urged his younger brother to continue, becoming quite curious of the unknown.

"Nothing."

"Stop. Lying."

"Fine, you really wanna know?"

"Yes! That's the point of this interrogation!" Tai exclaimed. Daisuke sighed and leaned over, placing his mouth near Tai's ear.

"We're kind of going out now," he whispered quietly, pulling away and analyzing his brother's facial expression. What he saw was an amused grin.

"Somehow I thought so. Good job!" Tai laughed and ruffled Daisuke's hair.

"Oh shut up," Daisuke mumbled, shoving Tai's arm away and blushing slightly.

"You don't seem very pleased about it." Tai stopped moving, blinking at his brother expectantly. Daisuke merely shrugged and stared at his feet.

"Maybe I'm not," he spoke almost inaudibly.

"Why not?" Tai wondered and watched his little brother closely.

"Because he's a liar."

"…come again?" Tai quirked an eyebrow. Daisuke looked up and turned back to Tai.

"He's a pathological liar. How am I supposed to know if I can really believe him?" Daisuke voiced his fears. Tai looked thoughtful for a bit before motioning for Daisuke to continue.

"I mean, seriously, how am I supposed to know if he's really serious about liking me? How am I supposed to know how trustworthy he really is? How am I supposed to know if this is the right path to take?" Daisuke stopped and waited to an answer. Tai looked off into the distance and slowly shook his head.

"You don't. But it's a chance you'll have to take," he finally said. Daisuke raised both eyebrows in surprise and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"But…I don't want to get hurt," he said softly, averting his eyes back to the floor. Tai sighed and snapped out of his trance, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Daisuke, there's such a thing as faith. Put a little into your relationship. You'd be surprised how far you go," he said and removed his hand. Daisuke peeked up at him and frowned again.

"How do you know that faith will help though?" he asked. Tai smiled fondly and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Because that's why Yama and I have made it this far," he stated simply. Daisuke sighed deeply and shook his head.

"That's different though."

"Oh? How so?"

"You guys are best friends. You were before you made life complicated."

"So?"

"Kiseki and I just met last month…who knows what could happen?" Daisuke stopped in front of his classroom, leaving Tai to stand in front of him. The mud-eyed boy crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at his brother.

"You're afraid of the unknown," he declared.

"Possibly," Daisuke agreed. Tai snorted and smacked the other boy behind the head.

"Well stop it. Just have a little faith, you idiot." The bell rang sounded off, letting the boys know that they had one minute to get to class. "Look, we'll talk about this later okay?"

"I guess so…" Daisuke replied reluctantly. It was Tai's turn to sigh and he gave his brother a one-armed hug.

"Look, I know you. You're going to let this whole thing eat you up from the inside-out because you care too much about what could happen. Just let it happen."

"Yeah, but-"

"Trust me. Have faith in the present and ignore the future," Tai finished with an air of finality and walked away, waving over his shoulder. Daisuke stood by the door silently, weighing all of his options carefully.

'_Have faith…or prevent all bad things from happening.'_ He thought to himself, creeping into the classroom and into his desk.

'_On one hand, if I broke up with Kiseki now, I can prevent getting hurt like Tai did with Haru. However, if I really do have faith in this whole thing, some good may happen, like Tai and Matt. Hold on, why am I basing _**my **_life on Tai's experience? Didn't I say I was going to stop that? Ugh, whatever.'_ He groaned quietly, pulling his math book out of his bag and waiting for the lesson to begin.

'_Okay, Tai, just this once, I'm gonna take your advice.'_ He decided and glanced over to the door. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed that Kiseki was standing outside, watching him. The magenta-eyed boy gave him a little wave before turning around and walking away. Daisuke smiled back at his retreating figure, although the smile felt a bit strained.

'_I just hope that you're right.'_

* * *

Tai stepped out of the bathroom, releasing all the steam that had built up from his shower. Slipping into a pair of sweatpants, he flung himself onto his bed shirtless, waiting for Matt to come back. 

As if on cue, the doorknob turned and the blond tiptoed in.

"Where have you been? You can't seriously tell me that your appointment took 12 hours," Tai said, sitting up and watching his partner-in-crime move around the room.

"You're right, it didn't. Although it did take four," Matt replied and settled himself down on Tai's bed.

"Why?"

"Because, one hour for a background check, two hours for testing, and one hour to wait for the results."

"So where were you for the other eight hours?"

"Library, Naku's class, and the gym."

"…why? You had any and all physical activity."

"Not true," Matt argued back, snuggling down into Tai's chest.

"Still, what were you doing?"

"Hockey."

"…what?"

"I met up with a few people who were in there and we started a game of floor hockey," Matt repeated calmly.

"And you didn't invite me?" Tai gasped, pretending to look offended.

"Nope," Matt confirmed with a cheeky grin.

"Fine. But hey, what were your results?" Tai changed the subject. Matt fell silent suddenly, playing with the drawstring of Tai's pants. "Yama?" A tiny smile wormed its way onto the American boy's face.

"Nothing."

"Say huh?" Tai looked rather puzzled.

"Nothing's wrong with me…I might have been mildly depressed when I first arrived here, but it worked itself out."

"Really? That's cool…it just disappeared? The depression I mean," Tai clarified. Matt nodded and his smile grew wider.

"I wonder why," he teased and straightened up, kissing Tai's cheek. Tai grinned back and wrapped his arms around the thin frame of the blue-eyed male.

"Because I'm utterly charming, perky, and lovable?" he said with a cheesy grin.

"Actually, I was going to say because you're Tai. But I suppose that answer works too." Matt shrugged. Tai opened his mouth to retort to that comment when another thought suddenly entered his brain. He closed his mouth and he fell into a thoughtful state, leaving Matt to wonder what had just happened.

"Um…Tai?" he called out, waving a hand in front of the Japanese boy's face. Tai continued to stare off into space but he did start to speak.

"If nothing's wrong with you…that means you're leaving forever," he said, clearly not wanting to believe it himself.

"That's not true, Tai," Matt interjected.

"Of course it is. This is a school for the mental. You're not mental. Why would you stay here?" Tai asked flatly, on the brink of falling into a rather dark mood. Matt could tell that this was the case and quickly thought of a response.

"Because I'd be with you?" he offered, placing his hand into Tai's. He allowed his fingers to intertwine with the other boy's while he continued to talk. "Tai, like I just said, my life is so much better now that I have you. You really think I'd go back to the way I was and the way things were?"

"No," the brunet mumbled, this time resting his head against Matt's chest. "But why would you stay here just because of me? I'm not **that** great." Matt's jaw fell agape at the statement.

"Why the hell would you say that?" he questioned, running a hand through the wild brown locks. Tai looked down at the bedspread sullenly.

"_You're worthless, you know that?"_

"_But I tried…"_

"_Obviously you didn't succeed. Taichi, I don't know what you're thinking, but you're not that great." _

"_I'm sorry…" _

"_Just shut up and get the fuck out of my sight." _

"Why the hell would you say that, Tai?" Matt repeated himself, grabbing Tai's chin to force him to look at him. Two dull brown eyes stared back at him.

"It's nothing, Yama," he assured his companion.

"No really, what would make you say that? You're probably the greatest thing that's happened to me since I was ten."

"What happened when you were ten?"

"I started guitar lessons," Matt stated factually. Tai smirked at him.

"Figures."

"But seriously…are you sure? Do we need to talk about something?" Matt pressed on, concern suddenly gnawing at him. Tai bit down on his lip and looked back at the bedspread, contemplating his next move. He shook his head hesitantly and looked up again.

"Not now, all right?" he finally said, moving away from Matt and crawling under the covers. Matt got off of the bed, looking at Tai with a mixture of hurt and confusion.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. He needed to know before jumping to any conclusions.

"No," Tai replied firmly. "It wasn't you who did something wrong," he added in a quieter voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Good night, Yama-chan." Tai rolled over so that he was facing the wall, curling up and burying himself under his pillow. Matt lightly rubbed Tai's shoulders before striding over to his own bed. He stripped down to his boxers and got between the sheets, shutting off the light next to the bed.

"I love you, Tai," he said into the darkness. He didn't really expect an answer anyway.

"…love you too, Yamato."

Well, a half-hearted answer was better than no answer at all.

* * *

Two weeks later, Matt found himself outside of Naku's classroom, bag on his shoulder and headphones on his ears. He knocked on the door firmly and waited. 

"It's open," a voice spoke out above the music. Opening the door, Matt stepped into the room and looked down at his CD player, stopping his music all together. He removed his headphones and started shoving the items into his bag.

"Hey, Naku, I was just wondering if-"

"She's out for the moment, but I can take a message," a playful voice cut him off. Matt snapped his head up and looked over to the desk, where Tai was sitting in Naku's chair at her computer.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked, walking up behind his boyfriend and looking over his shoulder.

"Was waiting for Naku, got bored, decided to snoop," Tai said clearly as he opened another old email.

"Tai! That's so rude and nosy and she's going to kill you and what business do you have to be reading her private emails and-"

"They're all from your dad," Tai seized Matt's ranting. The blond blinked and leaned against the back of the chair.

"Really? Anything good?" he questioned, reading the email as well.

"Mmhmm. Apparently, your father and our teacher have an online relationship going on."

"You have **got** to be kidding!"

"I'm not, dude. Some of these emails are kinda…racy. It's awesome!" Tai said gleefully and closed the email, opening a new one. "This one's my favorite."

"Should I ask why?" Matt inquired dryly, reading the email for himself.

Hello Hiro,

I just now received your last letter, thanks to the server being down. It was such a shame that it took so long to get to it; that picture of you is extremely…breath-taking. You're different than how I pictured you. Almost like my ex-husband…

I'm just teasing, Hiro-kun. You know, it's so wonderful to talk to you after-

"I'm closing the email now!" Tai announced and promptly clicked the small X in the right-hand corner.

"Tai! I wasn't done reading that yet!" Matt shouted. Tai shrugged and got out of the chair.

"Oh well, we have other matters to take care of."

"Such as?"

"What did you need from Naku, anyway?" Tai shifted gears.

"I wanted her to re-teach me something about poetry so that I can finish out assignment that's due Friday."

"Hmm, that can wait," Tai decided, sauntering over to the black board. "As stated, we have other matters to take care of, other subjects to study."

"Do we now?" Matt watched his boyfriend closely, dropping his bag on a nearby table. Tai nodded and took a piece of chalk, writing on the board in his scrawly messy handwriting, underlining the message and stepping away from the board.

"Today, we shall be studying Blowjobs 101," he announced, looking at Matt with the lust-laced eyes he had become quite accustomed to.

"Oh really?" Matt squeaked, taking notice of the blood rushing to his face, never mind other areas. Tai nodded and walked towards him slowly, sashaying his hips like he had on Christmas.

"There are many methods used for giving oral sex. But they all begin with the same first step...foreplay," Tai explained and captured Matt's lips with his own, pushing him against the teacher's desk. He started out slowly, teasing Matt's lips with small open-mouthed kisses, pulling away slightly every time Matt tried to get his tongue instead Tai's mouth.

The blond groaned in frustration, leaning into the kiss and running his tongue over Tai's bottom lip, begging him to part his lips. Tai came back slowly; prodding Matt's lips open with his own tongue and regaining control, sufficiently reminding Matt whom was teaching whom here. The brunet traced slow circles around the tip of Matt's tongue, moving down to tickle the inside of his bottom lip. Tai smirked and pulled away, trailing his fingers along the waistband of Matt's boxers.

"Now, as soon as your partner is sufficiently aroused, you move onto step two, ridding yourself of unnecessary clothing," he continued and let his hands travel lower, slowly unzipping Matt's slacks.

Matt bit back a whimper and let Tai continue his lesson plan. The brunet pulled Matt's pants down to just under his knees, toying with the waistband of Matt's boxers again.

"I expect you to be taking notes on this, Mr. Ishida," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "Now," he continued, sensually rolling down the band of Matt's boxers, dropping them down to the same level as his pants. "The next step is to decide your method. If your partner is slightly limp, you might want to pump him a few times." Tai demonstrated this by clasping his right around Matt's member, slowly pumping up and down three times.

"However, your partner shouldn't be limp if you did a good job with the foreplay, and I did a mighty fine job, if I do say so myself." He nodded to himself, admiring his work openly.

"Then why did you just touch me?" Matt questioned in a wispy voice, feeling sparks ignite his hard-on further.

"Because I just couldn't help myself," Tai replied with a wink and moved onto his knees. "So now you decide how you want to approach this matter," Tai began, pressing his lips against Matt's member carefully to test the blond. Another whimper assured him to continue talking.

"You can start by licking." He took Matt into his mouth again, running his tongue along the sides of his member. A throaty groan resounded from the blond and Tai smirked, continuing to explore with his tongue and make Matt moan in delight. He looked up slightly and noticed that the pretty blue eyes were tightly shut but his face was relaxed in ecstasy. Knowing he had to continue the lesson, he gave the tip a final flick before he pulled away, much to Matt's disappointment.

"Now, you can also bite," Tai mentioned, leaning forward again and lightly nipping the tip of Matt, causing the blond to let out a squawk of protest. "However, I don't recommend you do that because it hurts like hell," Tai chuckled, looking up at Matt mischievously, who in turn, glared at him harshly. "Are you with me so far?"

Matt continued glaring down at Tai, trying to remember how to breathe at the same time. "Yes," he hissed between his teeth, becoming very aware of the ache between his legs that needed to be taken care of, and fast.

"Good." Tai nodded. "And then of course, you have this last method I'm going to show you. I don't really have a name for it though." Tai shrugged and leaned forward again, taking Matt's length back into his mouth.

Without warning, he began moving his head up and down the shaft, sucking gently as he went. A loud moan (amongst other noises) rang throughout the empty classroom and Matt was surprised (not to mention ashamed) to learn that they were coming from him. Tai removed his mouth from Matt ever-so-slightly and looked up once more, pleased to see that the other boy was ready to burst.

"Of course, you can always throw together a combination of all three of the methods," he mentioned casually, studying Matt's face closely. The blond looked rather irritated now from the fact that his...Tai kept interrupting the process of relieving him. Tai began working again, gently licking the head of Matt's penis and taking half of him into his mouth, running his tongue back along the sides and only biting down once in an almost soothing manner before resuming to the suckling and licking. Tai came to find that those two methods produced the loudest moans from his blond lover. Knowing that he was on the borderline of being evil, he pulled away again and stared into Matt's eyes, amused to see desperation written in them.

"Now, I hope you understand everything clearly. Have you been paying attention, Mr. Ishida?" he asked in a husky tone.

"Damnit, Tai, just finish it!" Matt groaned, on the verge of his breaking point.

"You have to tell me first, have you been paying attention?" Tai teased him again.

"God, yes!"

"Good...you've been a good student, Yamato. I think you deserve a reward," Tai concluded and licked the tip of Matt, taking him in inch by inch back into his mouth.

"Tai," Matt whimpered urgently, giving Tai fair warning of what was to come. Tai didn't bother to remove his mouth, sucking on Matt once more before the blond cried out, thrusting his hips in one small movement and coming into Tai forcefully. Tai pulled back with a surprised blink, swallowing and licking his lips.

"Not bad, kinda salty though. Oh well." Tai shrugged and looked up at Matt again, getting up to his feet.

"So...now, to give you your homework," he said enticingly.

"What homework?" Matt panted, trying to gain control of his breathing again and erase the white spots he was seeing in front of him.

"You have to do the same thing," Tai replied, slowly unbuckling his pants and pulling them off, leaving himself standing in his dark red boxers.

_'Oh shit...'_ Matt felt another spark go off in his lower regions and nodded his head, pulling up his boxers and completely kicking off his pants.

"We'll see what I can do, Sensei," he replied and grabbed Tai by the shoulders, spinning him around and pinning him to the top of the desk. Tai let out a startled yelp before his lips were covered by Matt's. The blue-eyed boy started kissing him hard, feeling a suddenly surge of power by the fact that **he** was the one straddling his boyfriend and **he** was the one in complete control. He wasted no time in beginning to roll down Tai's boxers, inch by inch, just to make the other boy sweat. He got closer…he pulled away from the kiss slightly to watch was he was doing…he almost had them…just about there…

"What in the hell are you two doing?" a high-pitched voice shrieked as the door banged open. Both boys tried to spring apart, only to get tangled up in each other and fall off of the desk completely, landing in a heap on the floor. Tai pulled up his boxers quickly and the two teens looked up at Naku, who wasn't quite sure whether to be scared or furious.

"Um, Naku, we can explain, really," Tai started to say, grabbing his pants from beside him.

"Tai, get out for a second. Yamato, we need to talk," she ordered. Tai sent Matt an apologetic look and scampered out of the room, no doubt to sit in the hall and wait. Matt shamefully tugged on his own pants, thankful that he had enough sense to put on his boxers before-hand.

"Sit," Naku insisted, pointing to a chair in front of her own desk. "You two didn't get anything on my chair did you?"

"No," Matt said, feeling the color rise back into his cheeks. Looking slightly relieved, Naku sat down and looked at her student.

"Yamato, there are a few things that we need to discuss…your relationship with Tai being one of them now," she started out.

'_Oh damnit.'_ Matt mentally cursed and inwardly sighed.

"Like what?" he asked.

"First of all, I think you should know that it was me who asked Dr. Daiamante to check on you." Naku leaned back in her chair, folding her hands into her lap.

"Really?" Matt tilted his head slightly. "So you didn't think I was crazy?"

"Of course not."

"That's funny…my father did," Matt mumbled.

"With good reason, I'm sure," Naku retorted.

'_Yeah, I bet you know that good reason.'_ Matt frowned.

"Second of all, I've heard that you were diagnosed with nothing but typical teenage angst."

"Sounds about right."

"So are you going home?"

"Maybe. I haven't quite decided yet." Matt shrugged. Naku nodded and took a sip of the coffee she had just brought in with her.

"Would your father let you stay even if you wanted to?"

"Truthfully? I don't know. My father's a strange man, sending me across the world because I was a bit much to handle."

"I'm sure he'll want you back now," Naku replied.

"Yeah…I guess." Matt rolled his eyes. Naku waved her hand, in turn, waving away the subject.

"Thirdly…since when have you and Mr. Yagami been involved with each other?" she inquired. Matt blinked and shifted his gaze away from his teacher.

"I don't know if I feel comfortable sharing that with you," he said truthfully. Naku smiled at this.

"Why? It's not like I didn't see it coming from far off."

"Seriously?"

"Of course. Tai made it pretty obvious that he liked you. Besides," she added, turning to her computer. "You two were awfully close to be just best friends. Not to mention, you two making-out on top of my desk was a bit of a give-away."

"…I suppose you have a point," Matt reluctantly agreed.

"So? When?" Naku repeated her earlier question.

"Things started around Christmas…they became official about two weeks ago," Matt informed her, coming to the realization that it wasn't so hard to talk to Naku after all.

"That's good. You two really needed to stop chasing each other in circles and just get with the program."

"…who **are** you?" Matt laughed. "You're unlike most other teachers here." Naku looked away from the monitor and shrugged.

"Most of the other teachers here don't have teenage boys to raise," she said and returned her gaze back to the screen. Her eyebrows rose momentarily and she looked away once again.

"Who's been on my computer?"

"Tai. He says he always gets on."

"He does…doesn't mean he has permission to read my email," she scolded the boy who wasn't even in the room. Matt shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Um…I read a little bit of it too…" he admitted. Naku's eyes narrowed and he continued his plea. "But it was just because I was curious and you're writing to somebody I know and-" Naku held up her hands, signaling the boy to stop.

"Take it easy, Yamato, I understand. Curiosity is human nature. But do, pray-tell, explain who I'm talking to that you know." She sat back again, waiting for a response. Matt took a deep breath and swallowed.

"My father," he said as level as he could. Naku froze briefly before closing her eyes and smiling smugly.

"So you know huh?"

"Yep…"

Naku chuckled lightly. "We were hoping to tell you later on…but I suppose if you already know, there's nothing we can do, now can we?" she asked rhetorically.

"Why wouldn't you tell me **now?** Don't you think I deserve to know?" Matt all but yelled at his teacher, feeling unnerved by the self-satisfied grin.

"Yes, you deserved to know. But, we didn't want to worry you with any un-finalized details."

"What? Are you insane? Like I wouldn't worry that my father's communicating with my teacher about who knows what and…what's going on?" Matt calmed down enough to think straight.

"Yamato, you just have to trust me."

"I don't really want to…"

"You should…after all…" Naku paused again, looking up into the boy's eyes. "Mother knows best."

"Mother?" Matt repeated, confused beyond belief. He searched Naku's eyes steadily, hoping to find an answer. It was then he realized something very important: Naku's usual green eyes were now blue. Takeru's blue.

His own cobalt blue.

* * *

Okay wow, super-long chapter, sorry I didn't update soon, blah blah blah. Hope you liked it and such even though it was a bunch of random crap. 

Thanks to: **nEo-cHaN**, CartoonHeroes, **SnakeMistress**, chocolatshell, **Kaiya5**, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, **Yamato's Tiger Lily**, The Kaizeress, **xSwtLilAngel666x**, Tsuki no Lomelinde, **Keiran**, Mikoto's Paradise, **Dreamcrafter**, Kaizen, **DarkMetalAngel of Destruction**, Sen-Tay, **MoonDaemon**, YugiYamiforever, **Zeto**, Sovereign of Silence3, **Octavo**, CrimsonAnjel, **puppy-eyes58**, Shinobi KazeKage, **K.C. Raven**, angel-with-a-scythe, **yoshi-iso-cute**, KalesJ, **silverkaze013**, Largo-sensei, **tya**, Kloudy Reignfall, **Jedi Takeru**, SelenaWheeler, **JohnneyAntonelli**, Moppy, **Sailor Epyon**, Hannah, **PikaPika-Chinharu-chan**, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, **Tifa-Sama**, Selphie1234, **anne-rice-fan**, and Codise#.

You guys totally rock! Well, hopefully I'll update a lot sooner than two months. See ya around!


	14. Bond

**_Hating is easy but love takes courage._**

**_-Hikari Yagami._**

* * *

"Hmm, too bad you're not my mother," Matt replied. 

"Yamato, please don't play this game with me. TK told me that he did the same thing to you when you confronted him about being brothers. Trust me on this one," Naku retorted easily.

"…then I have some questions for you, _Mom_," the blond boy said, albeit sardonically.

"Fire away, _son_," Naku spoke in the same mocking tone, keeping her eyes level with those of the boy. Matt leaned on the desk top and watched Naku closely.

"Why don't you go by Natsuko Takaishi?"

"Seguchi is my ex's last name. As for Naku, it's a nickname, so why not?"

"Naku out of Natsuko?" the teenaged boy raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Matt out of Yamato," Naku countered back.

"So should I call you Naku or Natsuko?" Matt spoke again. Naku paused, thinking over the question carefully.

"I suppose I should start going by Natsuko again," she stated slowly, tilting her head in thought and letting her chin rest in the palm of her hand. "But you, mister, can just call me Mom."

"Only if you can prove to be so." Matt refused to give in just yet. Natsuko saw this and sighed.

"You always were rather stubborn," she commented lightly. Matt nodded and continued his interrogation.

"Why were your eyes green before just now?"

"Kiseki's not the only one with contacts."

"And your hair?"

"Hair-dye, what else?"

"Why though? Why would you want to change your identity?" Matt pondered aloud. Naku shrugged and drummed her fingers on her own desk top.

"Why did you change yours?" she questioned coolly. Matt blinked in surprise at this response.

"…technically, I didn't change my identity, Tai did," he started off.

"Stop stalling, Matt. Why did you change your identity?" Natsuko repeated. Matt sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Because I didn't like who I was," he mumbled quietly.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"Because I didn't like who I was!" he shouted suddenly, getting rather agitated with his mother.

"Precisely my point," Natsuko said with a smug smile. Matt growled in frustration and frowned.

"But still, you're…old! Why wouldn't you like who you were?"

"Who are you calling old?" Natsuko raised an eyebrow and frowned right back.

"Well, older than all of us at least," Matt backed up his point.

"I should hope so," Natsuko replied. "Point being, everyone has a point in their life where they dislike themselves and change."

"So you mean like a midlife crisis," Matt summarized. Natsuko reached out and swatted her son behind the head.

"I'm not old enough for a midlife crisis! After all, I had you when I was 17," she informed her son, ruffling his hair gently.

"Ew, Mom, please! I totally did not need to hear that!" Matt whined, darting away from his mother's touch. Natsuko dropped her hand suddenly and stared at the boy. "What?" Matt prodded her, staring back just as intensely.

"You called me Mom," Natsuko stated.

"…yeah, I guess I did," Matt agreed. Natsuko nodded and smiled softly again.

"So you do believe me."

"Not exactly, but ever since I came to this whacked-out country, lots of crazy shit has happened. Might as well believe it while I'm sitting here, right?"

"I suppose. What proof do you want exactly? A DNA test?"

"Nah, we're not in Kukachi."

"What?" Natsuko gave her son a quizzical look.

"Uh, never mind," Matt retorted, shifting his eyes from side to side. "But I mean, I don't know **what** proof I want…it's just so much to take in all at once." Natsuko nodded and rested her chin in her palm again.

"Date of birth: July 17th, 1988. Place of birth: Central Hospital, White Hills, New York. You weighed six pounds, seven ounces and were 20 inches long. Five hours of labor, mind you."

"Okay stop! I believe you, I believe you!" Matt cried, covering his ears with his hands. "Gah I really didn't need to hear that either!"

"That's the answer I was looking for," Natsuko smirked triumphantly.

"Well that's not cool…wait, 17? I don't remember that part of the story," Matt said suddenly. Natsuko fell silent and a serious expression took over her face.

"Well, your father and I got married at 16."

"…why?"

"I was pregnant with you, actually."

"…what?" Matt felt his good mood slowly die down, sinking back into his chair slightly.

"Your father never told you this story?" Natsuko sighed, giving Matt a look of disbelief. When the American boy shook his head, Natsuko cursed Hiroaki under her breath and launched into the story.

"Basically, your father and I met our first year of high school, him a 10th year and me a 9th year. We fell in love, I suppose. Dated for about two years before we decided to sleep together."

"So in other words, you two fucked and I was an accident." Matt finished for her, his voice sounding rather hollow.

"First of all, don't use that type of language. Second of all, yes, that's about what happened. We wouldn't call you an accident, per say, just a little unexpected. Because I was pregnant, our parents forced us to get married right after I turned 17. 'If you're old enough to have sex, you're old enough to get married and support yourselves.' That was their reasoning. Either way, we got married and about two months after that, you were born. Then a year and a half later, Takeru was born."

"And then you guys divorced." Matt felt his eyes narrow at the word.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We were so young…we fought a lot…we were married young and it was so much pressure, we decided it would be easier just to go our separate ways. I've been living with another man for the past 13 years…a man Takeru thought to be his father, up until you showed up. And it seems that your father got married again?"

"And divorced again because she was a bitch," Matt muttered.

"So I've heard. Either way, that's the story."

"So…what's going on? How did you and Dad get in contact again?"

"I managed to get his contact information from Kirei and things just kind of went from there."

"That still doesn't answer the first part of the question," Matt pointed out instantly.

"Which is?"

"What's going on? Are you guys like, virtually dating?" Natsuko's eyes widened in surprise and she laughed out loud.

"Now why would you think such a silly thing like that?" Matt rolled his eyes and buried his face in his arms.

"You are, aren't you?"

"…well all right, so maybe we are," Natsuko answered sheepishly.

"Nghh, why? What's the point of that?" the blue-eyed male groaned, still confused by the whole scenario.

"Well, if I can't see him for real, then it's better than nothing, right?"

"Why can't you see him for real?" Matt lifted his head off of the desk,

"Duh, 'Mato, different countries? It's not like he can just randomly leave New York and fly here to see me."

"Yeah but still." Matt pouted, pulling on his bottom lip slightly.

"Still what?"

"Are you guys in love again?" he questioned her, looking up from the desktop and back into her eyes. Natsuko breathed in sharply, narrowing her eyes in thought.

"Love is a strong word, Yamato," she started out.

"In other words, you are, he's not?"

"Will you let me talk, please?" Natsuko shot back, glaring at her son. Matt fell silent and waited. "Anyway, no that's not it."

"So…what is it?" Matt questioned tentatively. Natsuko gave him a half-smile and shrugged.

"I think we're falling back in love," she said, confirming Matt's hopes and dreams.

* * *

The blue-eyed boy made his way up the stairs, taking a right to go down the correct hallway. He opened the door to his room and stepped inside, shutting it behind him. He was greeted by the sight of his boyfriend sprawled out on his bed, wearing nothing but a towel and reading his World History book. 

"You're gonna make yourself sick if you don't put some clothes on," Matt commented. Tai jolted a bit and looked up from his book, smiling at his boyfriend warmly.

"Well you could just become a human blanket for me," he replied, shutting the book all together. Matt rolled his eyes and strode over to the bed, laying down next to the tanned boy. Tai wrapped his arms around the thinner boy loosely and snuggled closer.

"So, what did Naku have to say to you?" he questioned, nuzzling his nose into Matt's cheek. The blond thought for a moment, and began to laugh.

"I don't think you're ready to handle that knowledge," he said truthfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tai blinked at the statement.

"It means, lots of crazy shit was said and all of it is true."

"Oh come on, Yama, just tell me already!" Tai whined, throwing himself completely on top of the blue-eyed boy.

"What's there to say?" Matt smiled teasingly, knowing very well that his boyfriend was getting annoyed.

"Tell me!"

"What's the magic word?"

"Fuck me?"

"…wrong magic words, Taichi." Matt rolled his eyes. The brunet grinned widely and curled up closer to Matt.

"Tell me, pleeeeeeeeeease?" he begged, staring at Matt pitifully.

"You are a freak, have I ever told you that?"

"Probably," Tai replied, shivering slightly. "It's cold."

"You're naked," Matt replied.

"Not yet," Tai pointed out, gesturing to his towel.

"Close enough," Matt said and grabbed Tai's blanket from the foot of the bed, wrapping both of them up tightly. A tiny sigh of content escaped Tai's lips, leading Matt to believe that the hyperactive Japanese boy had finally calmed down.

Fat chance.

"Tell me!" Tai demanded, poking Matt sharply in the chest.

"Ow, hey! I'm not gonna tell you if you can't be nice!"

"Sowwy."

"You better be."

"Are you gonna tell me or not?" Tai sighed heavily, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling.

"Yes, yes, yes, just be patient."

"I have been patient."

"By poking me?"

"Mmhmm."

"Freak."

"Just tell me or I am going to bite you," Tai threatened. Matt snickered and shook his head.

"Now, now, Tai. No need to resort to kinky-violence."

"I hope you know that I officially hate you right now."

"Nah, you can't hate me," Matt reminded him, twirling a strand of Tai's hair around his index finger.

"And why the hell not?"

"Do I really have to bring up the Yama-bet again?"

"…nergh."

"…what?"

"Nothing. Look, can you just tell me what Naku had to say and get this over with?"

"Basically, to sum things up, Naku's my mom and she and my dad are slowly getting back together," Matt said in one breath. Tai stared at him blankly for a few moments, unsure of what to say.

"Um, yay?" he finally said, scratching his head in confusion.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Matt asked flatly, staring into Tai's eyes.

"It's not that I don't believe you, but you were right: I wasn't ready to handle that knowledge," the brunet countered back, closing his eyes in concentration.

"Well then you should have listened to me the first time, shouldn't you?" Matt chided, poking his companion in the forehead.

"Whatever," Tai mumbled back. "So let me get this straight. Naku is really your mother and she's dating your father again?"

"Pretty much."

"…ookay…"

"Yeah that's what I said too, but think about it! That's exciting for me!"

"Why?"

"…are you retarded!"

"Probably."

"…never mind. But really, I haven't seen my mother for almost 14 years and she's here now in front of my face. My father's speaking to her and they're falling in love! **Love**, Taichi! They're going to get back together!" Matt practically squealed in excitement. Tai raised an eyebrow and gave the American boy a lopsided grin.

"Don't get your hopes up just yet, buddy. What if they decide not to get back together?" Matt simply stared at him in disbelief.

"What is so hard about being happy for me, just this once? Why do you have to be so negative about this whole thing?" he exploded. Tai leaned forward calmly and kissed his best friend on the cheek gently.

"I just don't want you getting hurt. You don't deserve that," he explained quietly, his expression suddenly becoming somber.

"How would I get hurt?" Matt questioned, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Because, think of it this way: what if Naku and your father **don't** get back together again? Then all of your hopes will be crushed, you'll be depressed, you'll lock yourself in your room," Tai said, suddenly getting wound up again. "You'll refuse to talk to anybody or eat and you won't leave your room and finally you'll commit suicide by jumping out the window from the highest floor you can possibly find!" Matt took one look at Tai's face and burst into laughter.

"Oh please, Tai, that's not going to happen! Trust me, it wouldn't be the end of the world if they didn't get back together, it'd just be like living a normal life. Besides, suicide is for idiots who are too chicken to face life," he said without thinking. Tai's eyes widened and it was his turn to stare in disbelief.

"So I'm suddenly an idiot who's too chicken to face life?" he spoke lowly, glaring into Matt's eyes. Memories of his discussion with Daisuke months before suddenly flooded Matt's mind and his own eyes widened in shock.

"No, that's not what I meant!" he exclaimed, quickly trying to get himself out of trouble.

"So what did you mean exactly?" Tai continued to glare, suddenly lifting himself up and off of Matt.

"I just meant like…okay so I really don't know what I meant, but you know I didn't mean for it to apply to you at all," Matt explained hastily. Tai stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and climbing off of the bed all together.

"Look, I know you're trying, but please don't bother."

"Where are you going now?" Matt groaned slightly, rolling onto his side to watch as his lover shoved slippers onto his feet quickly.

"I don't think I can really talk to you right now. And as lame as this might sound, it's not you, it's me," was the reply given.

"Oh come on! I'm sorry!"

"Don't. Worry. About. It," Tai grounded out between his teeth before wrenching the door open and flouncing out into the hall. He slammed the door behind him and walked away, leaving Matt by himself on Tai's bed. He looked thoughtful for a moment, contemplating whether he should chase his boyfriend down or not. He flipped onto his back again and looked at the ceiling, as if all of the answers where inscribed upon it. He sighed again and shook his head, deciding he should let the hot-headed brunet be for the moment.

'_Besides,'_ he thought with a smirk. _'I'm not the one who ran out of the room wearing nothing but a towel.'_

* * *

After 20 minutes of sulking in the hall, Tai realized that 1.) it wasn't going to get him anywhere, and 2.) he was freezing cold again. He got up from his position on the floor and headed down the hall, stopping in front of Daisuke's room. He wasted no time in knocking on the door and opening it. Daisuke was laying on his bed watching TV when Tai entered the room. The younger boy looked up at his brother curiously and sat himself in an upright position. 

"What's up?" he asked, eyeing the towel around his brother's waist suspiciously.

"Yama and I kind of got into a fight…" Tai mumbled, tightening his grip on the towel. Daisuke nodded sympathetically and got off of the bed, wandering over to his dresser. Opening the top drawer, he flung a shirt and pair of sweatpants at his oldest sibling and directed him towards the bathroom.

"Go get dressed because I'm not staying in here and you're going to come with me since you're not staying in my room by yourself," Daisuke explained in one breath. Tai blinked slowly and stumbled into the bathroom, not finding enough energy to even try and argue. He dressed quietly and stepped out of the bathroom, flinging his wet towel over his shoulder.

"So where are you going anyway?" he asked, following the shorter boy out into the hallway.

"Kiseki just said that he was going to be in the Domestics room. So therefore, I'm going to find him," Daisuke said, leading them both downstairs. Tai abruptly stopped in his path and shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm not going in to be a third wheel," he insisted, turning around to go back upstairs.

"Tai, you won't be a third wheel. Besides, what are you going to do? You're mad at Matt, so you can't go back to your room. I'm not letting you stay in my room."

"Why not?"

"Because you break things. Anyways, stop worrying about it, Kiseki's not going to care in the least bit," Daisuke reassured him and stopped in front of a classroom next to the dining hall area.

"All right, fine, if you say so," Tai said reluctantly and followed Daisuke into the room. The inside smelled sweet and several boys were bustling around, bowls and spoons in hand.

"What the?" the two brothers asked simultaneously and blinked, scanning the area around them.

"Hey, there you are!" Kiseki spoke from behind them as he made his way over to them. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up," he said and kissed Daisuke lightly on the cheek. Daisuke grinned back, slightly embarrassed at the display of affection.

"Sorry, **somebody** decided to drop by without warning," Daisuke explained, throwing Tai a mock-glare.

"Well, ex**cuse** me," Tai shot back, leaning against the counter behind him. "So what's goin' on, 'Seki?" he directed to the black-haired boy, shifting his gaze onto him.

"Not much, Tai. Just making cookies, actually," Kiseki said with a proud grin.

"…why are you making cookies?" Both brothers asked him. Kiseki's grin faltered and he rolled his eyes.

"Because apparently it's a project we have to do to pass the class," he snorted and led the two boys towards the back where he had a work station already set up.

"Why are you even taking this class?" Daisuke asked his boyfriend, looking at all of the ingredients on the table.

"Because, the sooner I know how to do all of this stuff, the sooner I can move out of the Niwas' house," Kiseki said matter-of-factly.

"You would actually move out?" Tai asked him, picking up the eggs and juggling them a bit. Kiseki scowled and reached forward, grabbing the eggs out of Tai's hands.

"Yeah, I plan on moving out this summer," he said and set the eggs back on the counter.

"Kiseki, can I ask you a question?" Daisuke asked, toying with the measuring spoons in his hand.

"You just did," Kiseki replied with a smirk. "But you can ask me another if you'd like."

"What happened to your parents?" Daisuke questioned him, watching his reaction closely. The smirk melted away quickly and magenta eyes averted to the ground. With a low sigh, Kiseki lifted his head and gestured to the materials on the counter.

"Wanna help me with these cookies?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before he turned around and grabbed a large mixing bowl. Daisuke reached for the canister of flour and Tai leaned against the counter, fiddling with the eggs once again. Daisuke and Kiseki started making the cookies as Kiseki began his tale.

"When I was eight years old, I was actually a happy child. An only child, really. I lived with my mother and father in a middle-class apartment in downtown Tokyo. So this one night they wanted to go out to dinner, so they left me at the Niwas' house and went out. They were at some fancy-ass restaurant I guess and they were having a good time." He stopped in his story to take the eggs from Tai, cracking them in the bowl. "Dai, can you add in the brown sugar?"

"Yeah, sure." Daisuke reached over and picked up the bag of brown sugar, measuring out the right amount and dumping it into the bowl.

"Thanks," Kiseki said and began stirring everything up. "Anyway, where was I?"

"Fancy restaurant," Tai informed him through a mouthful of chocolate chips.

"Right, thanks. And stop eating those!" Kiseki whacked Tai across the hand with his wooden spoon.

"Owie!"

"Anyway! Okay so, like I was saying, so they were sitting there eating dinner when suddenly flames burst out of the kitchen. The tablecloths and curtains caught on fire and people panicked. For whatever reason, the sprinklers in the ceiling weren't working so people were fighting to get out the door." He stopped stirring the cookie dough and began spooning it onto the cooking sheet.

"Your parents didn't make it out, did they?" Daisuke filled in the blanks as he began to help with the dough.

"Basically, yeah. They weren't the only ones, but still."

"That sucks, kid," Tai shared his sympathies and took a fingerful of cookie dough out of the bowl.

"I guess so."

"So why are you living with the Niwas? Don't you have any other family?" Daisuke inquired as he too took a fingerful of the remaining dough.

"Well…bottom line is this: my mom's parents were dead, my dad's parents couldn't afford to take care of me, most of my aunts and uncles didn't want me since they had their own kids to raise, and the only aunt and uncle that would take care of me couldn't be tracked down," Kiseki said in one breath and shoved the cookies in the oven. He took his own bite-size amount of dough and ate it.

"Why couldn't they be tracked down?" Tai grabbed a spoon off of the counter and scooped out some more dough.

"They're constantly moving around the world since my aunt's part of the military. Don't bother asking me what she does because hell if I know."

"It's been six years…they seriously can't find them?" Daisuke cut in, grabbing his own spoon and digging into the remaining dough. "And why is there so much dough left?"

"They seriously can't find them. And because I only needed to bake a dozen cookies, and I made enough dough for like, three dozen," Kiseki answered, finally giving in and grabbing his own spoon to eat with.

"So what are you going to do? Aren't you a little young to be moving out by yourself?" Tai asked, lazily eating spoon after spoonful of the dough.

"Nah, I turn 15 June 19th. School will be out by then, so I can try and find a job or something, get an apartment of my own, the whole works," Kiseki displayed his plan, helping himself to another spoonful.

"But, aren't apartments kind of pricey? Where are you going to get that kind of money?" Daisuke blinked at the mere thought.

"Uh, a job, duh."

"Kiseki, that won't work," Tai stated, staring at the other boy thoughtfully.

"And why not?" Magenta eyes flashed up to stare heatedly into brown.

"You're a kid. You won't be able to make that much money."

"Shut up, Tai!" Kiseki suddenly blew up, throwing his spoon into the bowl.

"What?" Tai glared right back.

"Don't freakin' tell me that things aren't going to work! Things **will **work out because I will **make **them work even if it kills me!" he yelled again, thankfully not gathering attention because all sorts of appliances were running at the same time.

"Kiseki look, just calm down-" Tai started to say before he was suddenly attacked with a whisk.

"Do you have any idea what it's like going through life having **everyone** tell you that your plans won't work?" Kiseki practically growled, clutching a spatula rather tightly. Tai looked over Kiseki's shoulder at his brother, sending him a look that clearly said 'help me!' Daisuke nodded and tentatively approached his boyfriend from behind, wrapping his arms loosely around Kiseki's waist.

"You're right, we don't have any idea…but we're just trying to show you things from all angles…just so you won't end up getting hurt," he whispered quietly. Kiseki loosened his grip on the utensil in his hand and looked back at Daisuke questioningly.

"Why would you care though?" he asked just as softly. Daisuke shrugged and rested his chin on Kiseki's shoulder, tightening his own grip on the boy's hips.

"Because I kinda love you?" he offered as an excuse. A small smile cracked Kiseki's lips.

"Kinda love me, huh?" he repeated. Daisuke nodded and grinned himself. Kiseki rolled his eyes and a bigger grin returned, lighting up his whole face once again.

"Well, maybe I kinda love you too, you dork," he joked and kissed Daisuke quickly on the forehead.

"Aww, young love," Tai cooed, snickering behind his hand.

"Shut up, Tai!" the young couple groaned simultaneously as the buzzer for the oven went off, announcing that Kiseki's cookies were ready. The black-haired boy grabbed an oven mitt and pulled the sheet out, setting it on the counter to cool off.

"So…I can make more cookies, or we can eat the rest of the dough. Which should we do?" he asked the brunet brothers.

"I like the idea of cookies," Daisuke voiced his opinion, leaving Tai to nod in agreement.

"Fine, cookies it is then. But you have to help me spoon the dough onto the trays," Kiseki warned them both.

"No issues," Tai replied and began scooping out large amounts of dough, separating them into smaller amounts. Daisuke pitched in and began forming cookies, chattering to Kiseki happily. Kiseki nodded and put the batch of cookies in the oven, starting on a new batch and talking to Daisuke just as animatedly. Tai suddenly stopped making cookies and leaned on the counter, observing his brother and his brother's boyfriend closely.

'_Seems like Daisuke finally learned to trust Kiseki without busting a blood vessel. Either that, or he's toned down his paranoia. Either way, I'm really happy for him…he deserves it. But then again, what about me? Don't I deserve to be happy too? Oh gosh, Tai, don't be selfish…but still. I deserve to be happy. And actually…I'm happy with Yama. Technically, it wasn't his fault that his comment offended me. After all, it's not like he knew about Haru.'_

"Tai?" Kiseki broke into his train of thoughts suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Can you take those out of the oven?" Kiseki pointed towards the baked cookies still in the oven.

"Yeah, sure," Tai replied as he grabbed the oven mitt and took out the pan, setting it down in its original spot on the counter. He looked up at Kiseki and grinned. "Now you can make mo-oh my gosh, what's with your face!" he suddenly shrieked, causing Daisuke to jump and drop the bag of sugar in his hands. Kiseki raised an eyebrow at Tai and stared down at him.

"What?"

"Your eyes…they're two different colors!" Tai exclaimed. Daisuke stepped forward and peered into his boyfriend's eyes.

"Your eyes are hazel?" he questioned curiously. Kiseki turned away from them and walked over to the sink area, looking at himself in the mirror. Somewhere along the way, one of his contacts had fallen out, leaving him with one magenta eye and one hazel eye.

"Yep, my eyes are naturally hazel," he answered Daisuke's question and returned to his work station, scanning the area for his contact. He found it underneath the counter and stooped down to pick it up, realizing that it was ripped in half.

"Well, that's the end of that," Tai commented lazily as he ate a cookie.

"True." Kiseki nodded and threw the contact away.

"So, aren't you going to take the other one out so it doesn't look so goofy?" Daisuke asked, watching Kiseki go back to work.

"Nah, otherwise I won't be able to see much."

"You can't see without them?"

"Well, I can, but things are a bit blurry. Whatever though." Kiseki shrugged.

"Sek, I love you, but you look like a freak with two-different colored eyes," Daisuke stated bluntly. Kiseki stared blankly at his boyfriend for a few moments before turning, reaching up, and taking out his other contact. Turning back to his companion, Kiseki stared at him again.

"You mean like this?" he spoke, waiting for Daisuke's reaction.

"…what the?" Daisuke blinked hard, but nothing changed. Kiseki's eyes were hazel, but the other was a bright blue.

"Whoa, is that your real eye?" Tai asked, dropping his cookie back onto the tray.

"Mmhmm, why do you think I wear contacts?"

"Wow…that's kind of strange…but cool-looking, y'know?" Daisuke rambled, grabbing Kiseki's chin for a closer look. The black-haired boy swatted Daisuke's hand away and nodded.

"I suppose. I'm a misfit really. Toushi says my eyes scare the shit outta him." Kiseki grinned proudly.

"Good, I hope he dies," Tai mumbled and picked up his cookie again.

"Tai, be nice."

"Sorry."

"Neh, don't be. Toushi's not exactly the best person, so it's not like he doesn't deserve it," Kiseki snorted.

"Damn, Kiseki, these cookies are so good!" Tai exclaimed and shoved another one into his mouth.

"Thanks," Kiseki replied. Daisuke took one off of the cooling tray and bit into it, making a noise of approval as well.

"They're delish, Seki," he commented and swallowed the cookie.

"Not so much as you are," Kiseki shot back with a wink.

"…um…thanks?"

"Oh, anytime."

"You two are sickening, you know that?" Tai mentioned off-handedly.

"Like you and Matt aren't," Kiseki pointed out, leaving Daisuke to nod in agreement.

"He's got a point, Tai."

"Oh shut up and eat your stupid cookies."

* * *

Matt was curled up on the couch watching TV when Tai returned to their room that night. The brunet boy dragged himself over to the couch and sat down, cuddling up in the blond's lap. 

"Yama, I ate too much cookie dough and lots of cookies, so if you don't want me barfing on you, I suggest you hold me and snuggle me and cuddle with me, damnit," Tai groaned and buried his face in the crook of Matt's neck.

"…huh?" Matt raised an eyebrow and pet the top of Tai's head.

"Kiseki made cookies and we ate a bunch of them and the dough."

"And why did you do this?" Matt questioned him, his voice laced with amusement.

"Because it seemed like a good idea at the time." Tai shrugged.

"Okay…you weirdo."

"Of course…hey…"

"…hi?"

"No, not that kind of hey. This is the kind of hey like I have something important to say," Tai clarified.

"Ohhh. Okay, what exactly do you have to say?" Matt asked, turning Tai slightly so that he was facing him. Brown eyes lowered themselves to look at Matt's lap instead of his eyes.

"I'm sorry; y'know, for freaking out earlier. I know you didn't mean to make me mad or whatever," Tai explained. Matt frowned in concern and shifted Tai in his lap.

"So what happened?" he asked, stroking Tai's side gently.

"What do you mean what happened?"

"Why'd you flip on me then?"

"It's a long story…"the Japanese boy stalled, hoping that his boyfriend would drop the subject.

"Well, we have time," Matt retorted. Tai sighed and shook his head slowly.

"Basically, I don't really think I can talk about it right now."

"Why?" Matt prodded, hoping that Tai would keep talking. His best friend remained silent, staring at Matt's shoulder subconsciously. "Tai?" The tanned boy looked up then.

"…because it's too hard," he finally answered. Matt bit his lip thoughtfully and pulled Tai closer to him, trapping him in his arms.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" he questioned him, not moving in fear of disturbing the other boy on top of him.

"Yeah, I know, but seriously, this isn't that easy to talk about," Tai responded and returned the hug, giving Matt a chaste kiss on the lips. He suddenly untangled himself from Matt's lap and moved over towards the bed, opening his laptop and starting it up.

"What are you…" Matt trailed off, watching his lover intently.

"Just remember that I love you and I'm not talking to you about this because I don't want it hurting us," Tai said and looked up at Matt again. "I mean that, you know."

"…I know, but that doesn't explain what you're doing," Matt replied softly, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Checking my email."

"Oh." The blond turned back to the TV and turned up the volume. Tai sighed quietly under his breath and finished letting his laptop start up. The first thing he did was check his email. He saw nothing new there and silently closed the browser window.

'_I haven't been on AIM in a long time…maybe I'll do that just for the hell of it…MSN too.'_ He thought to himself and clicked on both icons, watching as both messengers loaded. Nobody was on MSN at that moment, sadly, so he switched over to AIM. Signing on under the name of **TaiTehMadNinja**, he scanned over his buddy list quickly.

'_Damnit, where is everyone?'_ he pouted, preparing himself to close down the messenger. Suddenly, he heard the high-pitched sound that alerted him someone just signed in.

_LibrasLight has just signed in._

'_Perfect.'_ Before he could even finish typing his greeting, a message popped up.

_I've been wondering where you've been. You kinda stopped returning my emails._ Tai grinned sheepishly and erased his message, beginning to type out a new reply.

**Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I think I just forgot about them. You know how it is**.

_Gee, thanks._

**Oh come on, Kari, I said I was sorry.**

_I know. What's new? How're you and Dais holdin' up?_

**Pretty good. Did Dais tell you he has a boyfriend now? **

…_no! When did this happen?_

**Couple of weeks ago.** Tai smirked, loving the fact that he knew something before his prying sister did.

_Oh good grief! You guys never tell me anything!_

**Then how do you find out stuff!**

_Because you guys rat each other out._

…**oh.**

_Anyway! So is it that guy that he was having issues with before?_

**Yep, his name's Kiseki, btw. **

_Ohh. Well, cuteness. How're you and Matt doing? _Tai read her response and bit his lip, unsure of what to say to her. He cautiously typed out his own message and sent it, preparing himself for an onslaught of virtual pain.

**I don't really know…we kind of hit a rough patch today.**

_Dear lord, what happened?_

**He made some wonky comment about suicide and I sorta flipped out on him.**

_Why?_

**Made me think of Haru, mostly.**

…_does Matt even know about Haru?_

**Nope. And I don't plan on telling him yet either**. Tai decided that he wasn't going to go down without a fight, sister or not.

_Why not!_

**He doesn't have to know yet…besides, I feel like it would just cause more problems.**

_Bullshit. I think it's causing more problems now than it would in the future_! Tai growled and pounded out a reply.

**Kari, think about it! If he knew half of the crap that me and Haru went through, he'd be furious!**

_I don't think furious is the right word…very concerned, definitely, but furious? I don't know…sure, he'd be hella mad, but still._

**Well…it's not only that, but some other issues too.**

_Such as?_

**I don't want him thinking less of me at this point. He already seems to have this opinion about people that commit or try to commit suicide.**

_What would he possibly think of you that was so terrible after he heard about you and Haru?_

**Um, let me think. He could think that I'm a total freakin' pussy for not being able to really move on in my life.** Tai frowned at the screen, watching as Kari came up with a snappy comeback.

_I doubt that_. So much for the witty remark.

**What's that supposed to mean?**

_Think about this, Tai. You've managed to fall in love with Matt, haven't you?_

…**yes? What's your point?**

_I'll get there, don't get your boxers in a bunch. Anyway, you've managed to stop cutting yourself, haven't you?_

**Kari, I cut myself once. That doesn't count.**

_Shut up, it does for this case. Just answer yes or no._

**Fine, yes.**

_Good. And you've managed to stop hating yourself enough to function like a normal human being, haven't you?_

…**can you just tell me what the hell you're trying to say?** Tai rolled his eyes.

_Look, my point is this. You've come so far since Haru. After all, hating is easy, but love takes courage._

**Meaning what exactly?**

_It's super-easy for you to just be like 'OMG I HATE HARU!' but you're not. Instead, you're actually improving your life, taking chances with somebody new. With what you've been through, it's not easy. I'm proud of you for that, and if Matt knew what I know, he wouldn't be calling you a pussy, at all._

…**Kar, I don't think that that's how things work.**

_Trust me, Tai. It takes bold bravery or sheer stupidity to do what you're doing right now. And frankly, I'm not sure which one applies to you. Point is, you're doing it_. Tai groaned aloud and shook his head. He knew Kari was right: he just didn't want to admit it.

**Look, if I just agree with you, will you stop?**

_Will you tell Matt?_

**Someday…it's still kind of painful to think about.**

_I think it would be better if you told him. That's what he's there for, Taichi. He's there to be your support._

**True, but…never mind, I gotta go. Thanks for the talk, Hika.**

_Anytime, bro. Call me sometime okay? I miss you and Daisuke both, a lot._

**We'll both call you. Promise.**

_All right. Love you and hope things work out._

**You and me both, kid. **

"You and me both," he said out loud, glancing over towards the couch. Matt had fallen asleep sprawled out on it with the TV still on some news channel. Quietly, Tai got to his feet and grabbed Matt's blanket off of the bed. Tiptoeing over to the couch, he laid down next to the blue-eyed boy and covered them both with the blanket. Tucking them both in, he turned towards Matt's thin frame and drew it closer, turning the sound on the TV down and changing the channel to something more appealing. He sat there calmly, holding his boyfriend closely and nodding off himself. He looked down at Matt's sleeping face and couldn't help but smile.

'_Kari's right…it wasn't easy moving on…but I did it.' _He reassured himself and shut the TV off all together, squirming around a bit until he was more comfortable. Closing his eyes, he kissed Matt's lips one last time.

"And I'm glad I did."

* * *

The rest of March flew by rather quickly, seeing how nothing drastic, much less exciting, took place. All of the boys in the school were slowly growing restless as springtime in Japan began arising. The sun was beginning to shine again, plants were blooming, and the sky was clearing up and becoming blue again. Everything was starting to look right in the world. 

"So, I was thinking," Tai started off, intertwining his fingers with Matt's as they walked down the hallway.

"Well, that's a first," Matt joked. Tai sent him a mock-glare but grinned anyway.

"Would you like to know what I'm thinking about?"

"I'm afraid, but sure. What were you thinking, Tai?"

"Wellll," Tai drawled out before he bumped into somebody.

"Hey watch it!" the other person exclaimed. Tai looked up and spotted Toushi in his line of vision.

"Well, you were the one that was stopped in the middle of the hallway, moron," the brunet shot back.

"Oh, it's just you," Toushi sneered, rolling his eyes haughtily.

"Yep, big surprise huh," Tai remarked dryly, absently playing with Matt's fingers. Toushi looked down and took note of their clasped hands.

"So you became a fag after all, Ishida?" he spat out, eyeing Matt disapprovingly. Before Matt had to think of something to say in his defense, Tai stepped in.

"What's the matter, Toush? Jealous that you still have to use your right hand for some action?" he smirked. Toushi stared at Tai momentarily before he began to sputter as a response. Tai merely rolled his eyes in a similar fashion to what Toushi had just done and walked away, tugging Matt behind him.

"Wow…you always seem to have an insult prepared for Toushi," Matt said as they continued towards Natsuko's classroom.

"Nah, I just say what comes to my brain. Usually, it's an insult. I just can't help it," Tai stated innocently and shrugged. Matt laughed slightly and let go of Tai's hand briefly to shut off his CD player. They were in front of Natsuko's door by this point and Tai knocked loudly, not bothering to wait for a response.

"Hey, Naku!" he greeted her loudly as he bounced into the room, leaving Matt to follow in his wake.

"Taichi, what have I told you about waiting to be invited in?" Natsuko scolded him.

"Um…I don't remember." Tai grinned and sat on the corner of her desk. "So, whacha doin'?"

"Trying to have a conversation," Natsuko informed him, nodding towards the area in front of her. Tai turned his head and saw a man sitting at a desk in front of Natsuko. Matt finally came into the room and looked at Natsuko first.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, Yamato," she greeted him warmly, although she was nearly snickering.

"…what's so funny?"

"What? No big hello for me?" the male adult spoke up, fixating his eyes on Matt. Matt turned towards him and his eyes widened in shock.

"Dad!"

"Do you have another dad?" Hiroaki leaned back in his chair and studied his son.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Matt practically shrieked, leaving Tai to stare back and forward between the two.

"This is your father?" he asked the obvious question.

"Mmhmm," Matt hummed, never breaking the gaze with his father.

"Hiroaki Ishida," Hiroaki introduced himself. Tai stuck out his hand and allowed Hiroaki to shake it.

"Taichi Yagami," the brunet said in reply. Matt shook his head and broke up the introductions.

"No, seriously, Dad, what are you doing here?" he asked. Hiroaki smiled back at Natsuko and then back at Matt.

"Well, your mother and I have something to share with you," he began.

"Wait, so you two are Yama's parents?" Tai managed to interrupt once again.

"You got it!" Natsuko replied.

"…crazy."

"Anyway! Dad, as you were saying?" Matt urged him to continue.

"Anyway, your mother and I decided that we…well, why don't you tell him?" Hiroaki said to Natsuko, letting her take over.

"Matt, sweetie…basically what it is is that your father and I are moving back in together to see how things work out."

"…are you guys insane!" Matt yelled, not quite grasping the whole concept readily.

"What do you mean by that?" Hiroaki questioned his son. Matt narrowed his gaze at his father and threw his hands up into the air.

"Why would you come all the way across the world to see a woman you divorced about 14 years ago?" he shouted, beginning to feel rather confused beyond belief.

"Yama, isn't this what you wanted though?" Tai pointed out, resting his chin on Matt's shoulder. Matt looked back into the face of his best friend and stopped to think. Granted, Tai was absolutely right; this is exactly what he had wanted to happen for many years now. But, now that it was actually happening, the whole idea freaked him out.

"…yes."

"Then what's wrong?" Natsuko broke into the discussion. Matt heaved out a big sigh and shook his head, burying it in his hands.

"I don't know. Never mind. Forget it."

"It's only for a while, Yamato, just to see how things will work out," Hiroaki reminded him.

"When did you even get here?" Matt asked, looking up from his hands briefly.

"Yesterday evening. I was staying in a hotel until your mom invited me to just room here."

"They let you do that?" Tai butted in once more, only this time Matt was grateful. He seemed to be at a loss for words this time.

"Apparently so. They didn't seem to have an objection down in the office," Natsuko replied.

"Cool! So how long are you gonna be around, Mr. Ishida?" Tai asked eagerly, switching his focus back onto the older male in the room.

"Probably until the end of May, at least."

"Wow, that sounds fun."

"Of course. So…how exactly do you know my son?" Hiroaki took his gaze off of Tai for a bit to look at Matt questioningly. Matt swallowed and silently prayed that Tai wouldn't blow their cover.

'_My mom already knows I'm gay…I don't feel like clueing my father in just yet.'_

"Roommate, best friend, and…yeah, I was the only one brave enough to try and talk to him when he first came here," Tai laughed, sending Matt a look that seemed to say 'I've got us covered.'

That definitely made Matt happy.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Hiroaki laughed. Matt pouted slightly at the comment.

"You're not supposed to be making fun of me, Dad," he protested, folding his arms across his chest.

"I'm not making fun of you, I'm agreeing with your friend," Hiroaki countered back.

"Yeah, Yama, he's not making fun of you," Tai snickered behind his hand. Matt narrowed his eyes and reached back, punching Tai in the cheek lightly.

"You hush up," he ordered and faced his parents again. "So, does TK know about this?"

"Not yet. We were thinking about going out to dinner this Friday and taking you and TK with us. That way, we could just spend family time together," Natsuko filled in, taking a sip from her coffee cup.

"You mean to make up for the family time we've been missing out on for the past decade and a half?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Hiroaki answered for the two adults. Matt seemed to think this over for a moment, allowing his eyes to dart between his parents once again. Finally, he sighed quietly in defeat and nodded.

"What time?"

"We were thinking eight o'clock. We were also thinking about letting TK bring Kari, just so that we can meet her," Natsuko took over again.

"You've never met my sister?" Tai asked, raising his eyebrow at Natsuko.

"Only a couple of times for a few minutes each. TK doesn't seem to want me to talk to her. And Hiro's never met her."

"Teeks probably doesn't want you guys embarrassing him," Matt suggested.

"Probably. Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you and Tai come to dinner with us? That way, TK will most likely bring Kari," Natsuko said, beaming at the mere idea.

"Uh, I don't know about that, Mom," Matt started to say before Tai elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"We would **love** to go, Naku. Or should I be calling you Natsuko now?"

"It doesn't really matter with you, Tai."

"Good to know. What's today, Wednesday?"

"Correct," Hiroaki answered after getting a glimpse at the calendar.

"Cool, so this Friday?" Tai continued getting details.

"That's right. So you'll both come?" Natsuko confirmed with the two teens.

"Most definitely!" Tai chirped and grabbed onto Matt's arm, leading him towards the door.

"Um, guess we'll see you Friday!" Matt managed to say before Tai shoved him out into the hall.

"Actually, I'll see you two tomorrow," Natsuko said from behind them as the door closed. Tai linked his arm with Matt and began walking away from the classroom. Matt stared at his boyfriend in disbelief as they headed up to their room, gapping at him openly.

"And you told my parents we would go to dinner with them **why?**" he suddenly exclaimed, breaking his arm free from Tai's.

"Why not, it'll be fun," Tai replied without skipping a beat, wrapping his arm around Matt's waist instead.

"Tai, I seriously didn't want to go. I wanted Mom and Dad to go on a date by themselves," Matt shot back, not bothering to try and remove Tai's arm.

"Well, think of it this way; now **we** can go on **our** first date," the brunet pointed out. Matt nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I didn't even think of it that way," the American boy admitted.

"I didn't think you would." Tai stopped in front of their room and grabbed his keys from his pocket, unlocking the door with ease.

"Are you sure you wanna go through with it though?" Matt questioned, walking into the room first.

"Of course, Yama. What could possibly go wrong?" Tai shrugged and shut the door, sitting on the couch with his friend and turning on the TV.

* * *

"Yama, where the hell is my tie?" Tai hollered, rifling through the closet hastily. 

"Fuck, I'm out of gel!" Matt shouted from inside the bathroom.

"Screw the gel, I need a tie!" Tai insisted, giving up on the closet and searching through the drawers.

"And I need gel!" Matt argued back. It was finally Friday, the big day. Both boys weren't getting off to a very good start though. Matt yanked the door open and stomped out into the main room, half of his hair gelled and the other half flat.

"What the hell do you need a damn tie for?" he questioned his boyfriend, watching as articles of clothing flew through the air.

"Your mom."

"…that's an old comeback, Tai. It's not funny anymore."

"No, no. Your mom said that we were going to some nice place and that we should look nice. And I want to make a good impression on your dad," Tai explained as he crouched down, looking underneath the beds.

"What for?"

"For when I ask him for your hand in marriage, duh." Tai crawled out from under Matt's bed, tie in his clutches and a smug grin on his face.

"Marriage huh?" Matt repeated, giving his boyfriend a skeptical look.

"Yep. Someday."

"You think so?"

"Nah, who knows. I do know that we're going to be late though," Tai said as he quickly put on the tie.

"What about my hair?" Matt replied, pointing at the half-created masterpiece. Tai reached forward and ruffled the blond mess, creating a totally new look. He stepped away to examine his boyfriend. Nodding in approval at Matt's choice of a white dress shirt and nice slacks, he turned around to cram his feet into his shoes.

"There, done, put your shoes on and let's go!" Tai ordered, throwing shoes at Matt and pegging him in the face with one.

"Ow, okay! No need to be violent!" Matt squawked, dodging the other shoe and letting them both hit the floor. Tying them onto his feet, he stood up and followed Tai out the door, locking it up behind them. The two boys raced down the stairs, entering the main hall and looking around. Spotting Natsuko standing by the front doors, the pair clambered over to her as fast as they could.

"Naku, it's your son's fault, he was whining about his hair and-"

"Mom, Tai threw shoes at me and hit me!"

"Boys, I don't want excuses. Your father, TK, and Kari are already in the car," Natsuko cut in, not bother to hide the smile on her face.

"They're already here?" Tai's ears perked up at the news of his sister being outside.

"Mmhmm, that's what I said. Let's go!" Natsuko ushered both boys out of the school and towards the car. She sat up front next to Hiroaki, who was behind the wheel. TK was sitting between them and Kari sat by herself in the back. Not for long though, since Tai and Matt climbed into the car as well, each one sitting on either side of Kari. Tai clung to his sister and hugged her tightly.

"Kari!" he chirped, smiling widely at her.

"Hey, Tai!" she replied and hugged him back. She looked to her right and smiled at Matt as well.

"Hey, Mato, how's life?"

"…you wouldn't believe it if I told you," he said with his own grin. He leaned closer to her, whispering into her ear. "But, I did fix things."

"So I've noticed," the female brunet whispered back. "I'm so happy for you two."

"Me too, but keep quiet…does TK know yet?"

"Yeah…I didn't think you would mind?"

"No, not really. And my mom knows…but my dad is another story," Matt finished up with a guilty look. Tai looked over at them questioningly, struggling to piece together the conversation.

"What are you two whispering about? Hmm?"

"Nothing, Tai," Kari said and pushed her brother's face away from her own.

"Are we all ready to go?" Hiroaki asked, turning slightly to look at the three teens in the backseat of the vehicle.

"Yep, drive, Dad," Matt answered for everyone. Just as he was told, Hiroaki put the car into gear and began descending down the long driveway that led to Odaiba Academy. Pulling out onto the road, he drove straight into town, making quiet conversation with Natsuko along the way. TK turned around to face his friends in the back.

"Hey, bro," he greeted the older blond boy.

"Hi, Takes. You look so different without the goofy hat," Matt commented, smirking at his brother playfully. TK stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes.

"Mom made me take it off," he said.

"That's because a hat wouldn't be appropriate in this kind of restaurant and you know it," Natsuko chided her son, swatting him behind the head lightly.

"Mom, my hair!" TK yelped, running his hands through it to fix it.

"Wow, Yama, a mini-you," Tai snorted with laughter.

"Yeah, he's always been that way," Kari informed them, smiling sweetly at her glaring boyfriend.

"And here we are!" Hiroaki announced, parking the car in front of a modern Italian place.

"Ooh, I've always wanted to eat here," Kari said as she climbed over Tai's lap, getting out of the car first. Everyone else followed in suit and walked into the restaurant. Hiroaki informed the host that he had a reservation for six and the group was soon taken to their tables.

"Okay kids, here's what we figured out. Hiro and I are going to sit in the booth by ourselves, and you four can share the table. Sound fair?" Natsuko asked them, gesturing towards the table that was across the way from the booth Hiroaki was already sitting in.

"Yeah, we can handle that," Tai replied for everyone.

"Great!" Natsuko turned and sat down in the booth across from Hiroaki. Tai turned back to his sister, her boyfriend, and his own boyfriend and nodded.

"Guess we can sit down and see what's on the menu," he suggested. TK nodded and pulled out Kari's chair for her, waiting patiently as she walked towards him.

"Such a gentleman," she giggled and sat in the chair, allowing TK to push it in a bit for her.

"But of course," he replied and sat across from her. This gave Tai an idea, although he wasn't so sure how it would. He caught Matt's eye and gestured for the blond to come to him. Matt made his way over to the side of the table Tai was on. Tai pulled the chair out with his foot, hoping to look not-so-obvious about what he was doing. Matt smiled at him and shook his head, preparing himself to sit down. However, it seemed as though Tai pulled the chair out just a bit too far as Matt crashed onto the ground.

"Matt, are you all right?" Natsuko called out to him, looking over from her place in the booth. Tai had managed to get over to his side of the table so not to look suspicious, leaving Matt to growl under his breath and nod.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he assured his mother and got off of the floor, sitting down next to TK. Tai gave him a sheepish grin and sat next to Kari, grabbing a menu from the center of the table.

"So, what sounds good?" he asked his friends, scanning over the contents quickly.

"Kar, wanna split a plate of spaghetti?" TK asked his girlfriend, peering at her over the top of his menu.

"Yeah, sure, that sounds great," Kari said back and set down her own menu. Tai glanced at Matt and then back at his menu.

"Think we should split something too?" he asked. "Strictly for the sake of saving your dad a bit of cash," he added quickly as Hiroaki eyed him suspiciously.

"Um…sure. Do you really think we can decide on one thing though?" he asked the brunet, reading over each description in the menu.

"I was thinking three cheese ravioli?"

"Hmm, I like the sounds of that. 'Kay, we'll go with that."

"Are you ready to order?" A waiter suddenly appeared behind Kari.

"I think we are?" she said uncertainly, looking at the three males for confirmation.

"Yeah, we are," Tai said. Kari nodded and let TK order theirs. Tai then ordered his and Matt's food.

"Anything to drink with your meals tonight?"

"I'll just have water, thanks," Kari said instantly, leaning back in her chair and watching TK.

"I'll take a Coke please," he said to the waiter.

"Coke for me too, thanks," Tai ordered as he began gathering the menus into a pile.

"And a Sprite for me, please," Matt finished up the orders. The waiter nodded and collected the menus.

"I'll bring some fresh bread sticks out to you in a moment," he said as he walked away, leaving the four teens to themselves. TK stared at Kari lovingly, a soft smile resting on his lips.

"Have I mentioned that you look very nice tonight, Hika?" Kari looked down to remind herself of what outfit she had chosen for the date. She had on a black mini-skirt teamed with a silky pink top, diamond stud earrings, and a pink and white necklace.

"Thanks, TK. You don't look so bad yourself." She grinned right back, liking the way her boyfriend looked in his dark blue dress shirt and khaki pants. Tai turned his attention back to Matt and snickered.

"You know, I would say the same about you, Yama, but your hair's kinda wonky. Oh, and is that a footprint I see on your cheek?" Matt stared at his boyfriend coolly and smirked.

"Your tie's on backwards and your shirt's buttoned up wrong," he pointed out. Tai looked down and groaned at the state he was in.

"How did I not notice this?"

"Hell if I know," Matt replied with a shrug. Tai sighed and began to work on fixing himself up. The waiter came back with their drinks and set them on the table along with the breadsticks, walking away just as quickly as he came. By this point, Tai was set straight and grabbed his Coke. Taking a sip from it, he looked at the two younger teens at the table.

"So, what's going on back at home? How're Meems and Kou and everybody doing?"

"Pretty good for the most part," Kari answered.

"Yeah, we're all excited because we start high school next week," TK added.

"Oh **yeah! **I forgot about that!" Tai realized.

"Yep. Another big milestone you're going to miss," Kari spoke again. Tai frowned slightly and rubbed Kari's shoulder.

"Sorry, kid. I hate doing that to you."

"Nah, it's fine. Mom's still home, so it's all good." Kari rested her head on Tai's hand for a few moments.

"What about you, Teeks? Who are you even living with since Mom stopped seeing that one guy?" Matt joined into the conversation.

"I'm living with a neighbor. She said it would be fine until Mom came home for the summer," TK said, toying with the straw in his glass. Matt nodded absently and drank his Sprite, glancing over at his parents. Both adults were laughing and chatting away, almost as though they had never gotten a divorce to begin with.

'_I don't understand it! How can they be so…happy? Okay, so maybe that's not the right question to be asking. How can they be so…in love? Is that what I'm trying to ask? It's so complicated. They divorced for a reason. Why are they trying to cover it up and go back to normal?'_ The blue-eyed boy got lost in his own thoughts, tuning out everything else around him.

'_I mean, it's not like I'm mad or anything, but it all just seems so sudden. Something's going on…I just can't put my finger on what it is.'_ He felt his eyebrows furrow together in thought and rested his chin in his palm, staring blankly in front of him.

Meanwhile, Tai was talking to TK and Kari about life back home. He reached in front of him to take a drink of his soda only to realize that his cup was not moving. Giving the glass his full attention, he tried moving it again. Still, the glass would not budge. Not being one to give up easily, Tai tried one last time and pulled on the glass roughly. It lifted up from the tabletop with a pop and tipped over, splashing his spaced-out boyfriend with Coke.

"Ah!" Matt let out a startled cry and pushed his chair away from the table, allowing the ice cubes and stray liquid to drip onto the floor slowly.

"Shoot, Matt, I'm so sorry!" Tai profusely apologized. Matt didn't say a word as he stood up, moving out of the way as the waiter suddenly appeared again to clean up the table.

"I am going to the bathroom to try and save my shirt, if anybody cares," he informed his friends and turned away, heading towards the back of the restaurant. Kari followed him with his eyes and looked back at TK.

"Why don't you go with him?" she suggested. TK shook his head and chewed on his straw.

"Nah, he's a big boy. He'll be all right."

"Go with him!" Kari hissed, kicking TK lightly with her high heels.

"Ack, okay, I'm going!" he insisted and got out of his chair, chasing after his brother. Kari turned to face her own brother, who had his head buried in his hands.

"Tai?"

"Don't say it."

"What was I going to say?" Kari blinked in surprise.

"I dunno. Probably something bad."

"…all I was going to ask is if you were nervous about tonight."

"Well, the sad thing is, no, I'm not." Tai looked up from his hands. "It's more like, I'm trying to do everything right and somebody hates me upstairs."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Kari agreed. Tai sent her a look that wasn't exactly thrilled. "I was kidding, relax," she assured him, glancing back at the bathroom. "I'm kind of glad you did it though, even if it was accidental."

"Why?" Tai's curiosity perked up and he turned his body to face his sister.

"This way, we can talk. Have you told him yet?"

"…about?"

"Haru!" Kari whispered frantically, making sure that Hiroaki and Natsuko couldn't hear her.

"Oh. No, not at all." Tai shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Kari, there are other things he needs to be thinking about besides my past relationships!"

"Such as?"

"…hello!" Tai gestured towards Hiroaki and Natsuko secretly.

"Oh…yeah. Forgot about them," Kari replied.

"Y'know, it's comments like those that remind me that you're related to me by blood, otherwise I'd swear you were adopted," Tai mumbled mostly to himself. Kari rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, regaining Tai's focus.

"Look, you're going to half to tell him sooner or later."

"Kari, it doesn't matter at this point. I promise I will tell him. Just not now," Tai stated firmly, not showing any signs of changing his mind. Kari sighed and drank a swallow of her water, shaking her head in defeat.

"Fine, you win. I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Well, for the most part, I know what to do."

"Oh, goody."

"Shut up."

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Matt profusely scrubbed at the soda stain on his white shirt. With an aggravated sigh, he threw the soaked paper towel into the trash and stared at his brother.

"We need to talk," he started out.

"Whatever happened, it wasn't my fault, swear it!" TK denied instantly.

"No, nothing like that. It's about Mom and Dad," the older blond said, leaning against the sinks behind him.

"Oh, okay. What about them?" TK asked, standing in front of his brother patiently.

"What do you think is going on with them?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at them! They're flirting with each other, being happy, being **civil!** Why are they so calm and happy, damnit!"

"Well, don't you think they deserve to be happy?" TK raised an eyebrow, unsure of where his brother was going with his speech.

"Of course they do, but they're hiding something from us. How do you not notice it?" Matt asked. TK looked down at his feet and scuffed his toe along the ground.

"Actually, I was just hoping I was imagining things," he said truthfully. Matt nodded and thought about his next statement carefully.

"I'm not sure if it's a good thing that they're hiding though. Good news, I mean."

"Would they hide it if it was good news?" TK asked doubtfully, peering up at Matt through his bangs.

"They could, if they wanted to surprise us," Matt brought up another point.

"What would they surprise us with?" TK frowned thoughtfully.

"Hell if I know…but it's gotta be something big if they're acting this weird about everything." Matt frowned as well, staring at his shirt again. Sighing, he dried it off and walked toward the bathroom door. "C'mon, let's go." TK tailed after him as they both made their way back to their table.

"Hey guys, food's here," Kari announced, motioning towards the steamy plates in front of her and her brother.

"Yeah, they brought us empty plates for you two," Tai said and pointed to said plate. Both blond brothers sat down again and took their food from the plates in front of them.

"How long has it been out here?" TK asked.

"Not very long, don't worry," Kari replied and twirled her spaghetti onto her fork, slipping it into her mouth. Tai nodded and chewed on a piece of ravioli.

"Hey, Matt, sorry about the shirt," he began, setting his fork down for the moment.

"Look, it's not a big deal, Tai," Matt replied, glancing back at his parents again. Tai noticed where his boyfriend's gaze had landed and followed it, looking at the sight before him. Hiroaki was feeding Natsuko pasta, both of them laughing at how ridiculous it seemed but enjoying themselves nonetheless. Tai snapped his eyes back to Matt and tapped him on the hand. Blue eyes slowly looked at him.

"Yama, what's wrong?" Tai asked him, staring deeply into his eyes. Matt sniffed and poked at the ravioli, picking up a piece and taking a bite.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking," he replied truthfully, eating the rest of the piece on his fork. Tai nodded and picked up his own fork, smiling down at the dish.

"You know, I could attempt to feed you like your dad's doing to your mom…but knowing us, it would just end up being messy," he laughed, looking back up at the American boy. Matt fought back his laughter and nodded as well.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Of course I'm right; I'm Tai."

"Okay, easy ego," Matt snorted and chewed on another piece of ravioli.

"Hey, I'm allowed to be egotistical sometimes, aren't I?" Tai replied, cutting a piece of his food in half.

"Ngh."

"…all right, I'll bite. What exactly are you thinking about?" Tai asked and set his fork down once again.

"…My parents are up to something. I don't know what, but they are," the blond informed Tai of his thoughts.

"And?"

"…what the hell do you mean and!"

"Just that. So what?"

"Well, I mean…we don't know if this something is good or not," Matt added warily. Tai raised an eyebrow and looked over to Hiroaki and Natsuko.

"Okay, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it's something good. They look too happy for it to be bad news," the brown-eyed boy shared his opinion, looking back at his boyfriend.

"But like **what** though? That's the thing I can't think of!" Matt pouted, sipping his soda as he waited for Tai's answer.

"It's not your business right now, Matt. Just wait," Tai remarked, taking a drink of his own soda.

"But, but-"

"No, no buts, Matt. Just be patient," the Japanese boy repeated firmly.

"Oh, this coming from the boy who's never patient with anything!"

"…what's your point?"

"Oh forget it." Matt went back to eating his dinner in silence. Tai shrugged his shoulders and mimicked his boyfriend's actions. TK and Kari talked quietly amongst themselves, eating their own pasta in otherwise silence. The rest of the meal went that way. Soon, the check arrived to Hiroaki and he examined it. With a satisfactory smile, he set it down with his credit card, handing it to the waiter and turning to the four teens.

"Well, how was everything?" he asked them.

"Excellent, thanks for dinner, Mr. Ishida," Tai said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, thanks for letting us come along," Kari chipped in, looking at the adults from around Tai.

"It wasn't a problem, Kari. We were glad to bring you," Natsuko smiled at the petite brunette.

"We thought it would be nice if you joined us for our celebration," Hiroaki joined in the conversation again.

"Celebration?" TK repeated questioningly, raising an eyebrow at his father. Matt's eyes widened and he looked at his father accusingly.

"I **knew** something was going on! Spill, now!" he demanded, banging both hands flat on the table.

"Matt!" Tai hissed, sending the blue-eyed boy a reprimanding look.

"No, I want to know what's going on!" Matt replied, not taking his eyes off of his parents. Natsuko sighed and shook her head.

"You never were one for surprises," she mentioned, still smiling away. She glanced back at Hiroaki then. "Should we tell them now?"

"I don't see why not," Hiroaki answered, placing his hand on top of Natsuko's and squeezing it gently.

"Tell us what?" TK inquired, choosing not to comment on their hands. Hiroaki smiled again and stroked the top of Natsuko's hand with his thumb.

"We're getting married," he announced.

"Again," Natsuko corrected him.

"Yes, again." Both blond brothers felt their jaws drop and began sputtering out questions at the same time.

"Why now?"

"Don't you think it's a bit soon?"

"Are you sure about this!"

"Boys, boys, calm down," Natsuko spoke out above their infinite questions. "One question at a time please."

"Okay, first of all, why are you deciding this now?" TK asked the first inquiry.

"Why not? We decided that we miss being together." Hiroaki shrugged.

"After 14 years of separation?" Matt stared at them in shock.

"So it took us a bit of time to realize it. Besides, it wasn't like we could contact each other even if we wanted to," Natsuko pointed out.

"Well, at least, not until you went to the school, Matt," Hiroaki added.

"So what you're saying is that it's Matt fault that you guys are getting re-hitched?" TK clarified what he was hearing.

"I wouldn't say fault, but yes." Natsuko nodded. Matt blinked and bit his lip, unsure of what to say now.

"When's the wedding?" Kari stepped in, stars twinkling in her eyes at the mere thought.

"We were thinking at the end of May. School gets out in the middle of the month, so then we would have more time to prepare for it," Natsuko answered, her own excitement suddenly building up.

"Oh yeah! We only have a month of school left!" Tai cut in.

"What if you guys decide that you don't really like each other like that anymore?" Matt brought up an interesting point, making sure that he hit everything before getting excited as well.

"That's why we're making it a month from now. We're going to try the living together thing, and then we'll get married if it's successful. Trust us, we have this whole thing planned out," Hiroaki replied.

"…apparently so," Matt mumbled under his breath.

"Congratulations?" TK said unsurely.

"TK, you could be a little more excited you know," Kari teased him, poking her boyfriend in the arm. A wide grin split TK's face and he cheered.

"Woohoo, go Mom and Dad!"

"Thank you, Takeru." Natsuko beamed happily and reached over the table, kissing her fiancé on the cheek. The two Yagami siblings said their congratulations and began bombarding the happy couple with questions about their relationship and about their wedding, all of which Hiroaki and Natsuko were pleased to answer. TK soon joined in the interrogation, getting just as wound up about the wedding as everyone else. Matt watched them all through un-seeing eyes, allowing his mind to mull over everything. Granted, he was pleased with the news; at least it wasn't something horrible. But it was still unexpected and uncertain. Shaking his head, he forced a smile onto his face and turned to his parents.

"I'm so happy for you guys," he finally said, his own voice sounding hollow to his ears.

"We were going to tell you sooner, but we thought tonight would be better," Hiroaki said, studying his son analytically.

"Yeah, well, you were right. I'm so thrilled now," Matt replied, allowing his smile to get bigger.

If only he meant it as much as he seemed to.

* * *

"What was up with you tonight?" Tai asked him as soon as he closed the door to their room. 

"What do you mean?" Matt stalled, hoping that Tai wasn't implying what he thought he was.

"Dude, it's almost like you don't even care that your parents are getting back together! What happened? When you first learned that your mom and dad were dating online or whatever, you were completely ecstatic. Now you're so…apathetic?" Tai ranted on as he undid his tie, throwing it onto his bed and kicking off his shoes.

"When did you start using a lot of big words?"

"Don't change the subject! Tell me what's going on." Tai stared at Matt harshly, unbuttoning his shirt slowly.

"You know, it's kind of hard to concentrate when you're stripping like that. I mean, it's kind of a major turn-on," Matt said, sashaying over to Tai and straddling him on the bed, wrapping his legs around Tai's waist. The brunet didn't get a chance to protest before the American boy's lips crashed onto his. Tai wasted no time in returning the affection, licking Matt's lips slowly.

The blond parted his lips, allowing Tai's tongue to slip in and roam its familiar terrain. Matt reached down and began unbuttoning Tai's shirt again, successfully taking off the piece of clothing. Tai broke the kiss and began a trail down his lover's neck. Matt let out a murmur of pleasure, fiddling with Tai's belt buckle in the meantime. Suddenly, Tai pulled away and looked into Matt's eyes, much to the blue-eyed boy's disappointment.

"So, tell me what's so terrible about your parents' engagement," Tai jumped right back into their previous discussion. Matt groaned loudly and rolled onto his back, lying next to Tai rather than on top of him.

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes. Like I said, you were happy before they announced it." Matt sighed and shook his head, averting his gaze to the ceiling.

"Don't you think it's a little soon for them to be doing this?" he asked, half-rhetorically, half-seriously.

"Maybe, but you have to give them credit. Weren't they together like, four years before they divorced?"

"Ye-how did you know that?" Matt gawked at his boyfriend, turning slightly to face him better.

"TK told Kari, Kari told me."

"…oh."

"Anyway, then there you go. If they were together for that long, and they've been talking and dating again for about six months, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Let them figure it out; they're adults. They should have control over their lives and be responsible for their actions."

"But still. What if they marry and get divorced again?" Matt revealed his biggest concern. Tai raised both eyebrows in understanding and pulled Matt closer, holding him so his back was against his chest.

"Is that what's wrong with you?"

"I guess…" Matt answered reluctantly, feeling strangely foolish now that the thought was out in the open.

"Well…all I can say to you is this: it might happen, it might not. You just gotta roll with the punches. If they get divorced again, hey no biggie, it'll be like going back to your normal life."

"Yeah…but I mean, what if we get used to being a family and then they decide to split up again? It won't be as easy to go back to being a divorced family, y'know?"

"I suppose you have a point," Tai agreed, twirling strands of blond hair idly. "But, you've just got to enjoy it to the fullest while you can. That's all I'm saying. I mean, if I had known my father was going to get killed, I would have been even closer to him than I already was," Tai trailed off, leaning over Matt's shoulder to see his face. "Does that make sense?"

"…sadly, it does." Matt nodded and turned so that he was facing Tai rather than be away from him. "I'm being pretty selfish, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't say selfish, but you're not looking at it from all angles like you think you are."

"How did you know…?" Matt stopped talking, although Tai seemed to get what he was trying to ask.

"I know you, Yama. Probably better than you know yourself at this point. I knew that's what you were trying to do when we were at dinner."

"So why didn't you tell me all of this sooner?"

"Because I was hoping you would see it yourself. But apparently not. It's okay though, I enjoy enlightening you with my wisdom," Tai said with a cheesy grin. Matt shook his head and leaned forward, pecking Tai's forehead lightly.

"Have I ever said that you're one of the most amazing, wonderful people I've ever met?"

"Hmm, maybe," Tai hummed, thinking back to all of the compliments Matt had ever given him. "Oh well, I don't mind hearing you say it again." Matt giggled slightly and grinned.

"Okay then. Taichi, you're one of the most amazing, wonderful people I've ever met," the blond repeated himself, snuggling even closer to his best friend.

"Glad to hear it. So…you gonna be okay about this whole marriage thing now?" the mud-eyed boy asked the smaller teen.

"Yeah…now that I think about it, I'm pretty excited too. And it's like you said, I just have to make the best out of whatever happens."

"Yeah, exactly. Besides, you're forgetting something else?"

"Which is?" Matt perked up, watching Tai curiously. Tai grinned and brought his face closer, touching his nose to Matt's.

"You're going to have me by your side no matter what, good or bad." He closed the gap between them, placing a gentle kiss onto Matt's lips. The blond sighed, a bit happier this time, and nodded his head.

"True."

"Just remember that. I'm not going to abandon you any time soon." Tai lay down again, resting his head on Matt's shoulder and closing his eyes. Matt smiled softly and cuddled into Tai's chest, closing his eyes as well.

"Thanks, Tai."

"That's what friends, of any kind, are for."

* * *

The two boys didn't have much time to think about the Ishida-Takaishi wedding as the month of April went on and bled into May. Final exams were rapidly approaching and they, not to mention every other boy in the student body, spent many of their evenings studying. However, they still had their moments. 

"Tai, Tai, Tai!" Matt shouted, bursting into the room and tackling Tai unexpectedly. The brunet managed to catch the hyperactive blond and held him close, not objecting to the onslaught of kisses he was being subjected to. Matt wrapped his arms around Tai's neck and his legs around Tai's waist, pulling back and looking at him with sparkling blue eyes.

"Wow, what was that all about?" Tai teased his boyfriend, shifting him slightly to hold his weight better.

"Guess what my mom just told me?" Matt grinned even wider, although it didn't seem possible.

"Hmm?"

"I'm not going back to America!" he burst out, followed by a round of joyous giggles. Tai's eyes widened and his own grin grew, letting out a whoop of glee and spinning them both around in circles.

"That's fantastic! So what's going to happen?" he asked, dropping both of their bodies onto the couch so that he was sitting with Matt on his lap.

"Mom said that Dad's going back to America to quit his job, pack his things, and move back here because Mom doesn't think she can leave Japan behind. So in other words, I don't have to go back! We can stay together!" the pale-skinned boy rambled on.

"I think your parents just became my second and third favorite people on the planet," Tai said, playing with Matt's fingers.

"Who's your first?"

"You just want to hear me say it don't you?"

"…maybe," Matt said, shifting his eyes from side to side.

"Fine. My favorite person in the whole wide world is my little Yama-chan."

"Yay!"

"…did you just say yay?" Tai stared at him dumbly.

"Mmhmm."

"Yama…you never say yay. To anything."

"Well, this isn't just anything. This is the rest of our lives!" Matt pointed out.

"Yeah, this is very true. So I'm going to say it with you. Yay!"

"Yay!" Both boys fell over laughing, holding onto each other tightly.

"Does TK know yet?" Tai questioned, turning on the TV for the sake of background sound.

"I think so. Last time I heard, he knew before I did." Matt shrugged and took the remote from Tai, flipping through the channels.

"Well, that's good. Man, I needed some good news. I felt like I was going to die."

"Why?"

"Because, finals are killer. I seriously think my brain is going to explode if I study one more time."

"What brain?" Matt stuck out his tongue playfully. Tai growled and bit down on Matt's tongue carefully.

"Hey!" Matt squeaked, wiggling his tongue in an attempt to make Tai release it.

"Hey, it's like I always said, use it or lose it!" Tai stated confidently and initiated a passionate kiss. They didn't get very far into it before three loud bangs were rapped out on their door. With an irritated sigh, Tai got up and headed for the door, mumbling under his breath about "people and their crappy timing." Matt got up as well, following Tai gradually. Tai grabbed the doorknob and twisted, pulling the door open.

"What do you want?" he said before it registered just who was outside of the door. There stood Daisuke, shaking slightly and with tears in his eyes. He wasted no time in throwing himself into Tai's arms and started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Whoa, hey, Dais, what's the matter?" Tai asked, almost dropping Daisuke in alarm. The rust-haired boy continued to cry but attempted to make coherent sentences.

"He…I…don't know why…didn't think it was worth it," the youngest boy babbled, sniffling and trying to regain control of his tears. Tai carried his younger brother over to the couch and sat down, pulling Daisuke down with him.

"What happened?" Tai asked again, waiting as patiently as he could. Daisuke sniffed loudly again and hiccupped, taking in a deep breath to calm down slightly.

"Kiseki dumped me," he managed to say in an unstable voice before he broke down again, curling up into Tai's side as his shoulders shook with his sobs.

"What?" Matt spoke up in surprise, not believing what Daisuke had just said. Tai on the other hand remained quiet, his lips drawing together in a thin line and his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Did he bother to say why?" Tai questioned in a low voice, tightening his grip on his youngest sibling.

"He said something like our relationship would have to be put on hold for about three or four months because of his, or rather Toushi's, family being so damn homophobic. So he said there was no point in continuing since it would be such a long break," Daisuke said as his sobbing went down to just quiet tears.

"Did he say anything else?" Matt wondered, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Tai's head. Daisuke bowed his head and sniffled.

"Dai?" Tai shook his brother's shoulder carefully.

"He flat-out said he didn't like me anymore. At least, not like I like him," Daisuke responded after some time.

"Well then what **does **he like you as?" Matt inquired.

"He said a little brother," Daisuke said as he scrubbed at his eyes fiercely, hoping to stop his tears in their tracks.

"…bullshit." Tai suddenly pushed Daisuke off to the side, standing up and stalking towards the door.

"Tai?" Matt called after his boyfriend, not liking the murderous look in his eyes.

"I'll be back later," he said over his shoulder, yanking the door open roughly. Daisuke then came to the realization of what was going to happen.

"Tai, don't!" he shouted to his brother. Tai ignored Daisuke's pleads and walked out into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind him. He knew exactly where the black and green-haired boy would be and he was hellbent on finding him. He turned into the library, giving a quick scan of the room before he spotted his prey. He stormed over to the younger boy and politely tapped him on the shoulder. He waited until Kiseki turned to acknowledged him and he struck, connecting his fist with the odd-eyed boy's jaw. Kiseki didn't seem that fazed; he merely shut his book and looked back up at Tai.

"I'm going to guess that Daisuke told you."

"What kind of crap are you trying to pull?" Tai growled, staring down at the other boy.

"What do you mean?"

"I know that that excuse you gave Daisuke was complete and utter crap."

"…really now," Kiseki replied, standing up and facing Tai, crossing his arms over his abdomen.

"Yep. So spill; why did you dump my brother?" Tai demanded an answer, refusing to blink until Kiseki looked away. Magenta eyes drifted toward the carpeted floor, being greeted with the sight of scuffed-up high tops.

"Because Daisuke's right: I can't be trusted. It was easier to break up with him now than to keep up this caricature of intimacy."

"Easier? **Easier?**" Tai shouted, flailing his arms up into the air. "You thought it would be easier to rip his heart out and stomp on it rather than try to explain what you just said to me?"

"I didn't think he was going to react that badly…" Kiseki replied truthfully, peering back up at Tai through his bangs.

"What, did you think he was just going to say 'Oh, okay, thanks for telling me!' and skip off happily? Come **on!** You were his first boyfriend…he trusted you. Isn't that what you wanted from him from the beginning? His trust?" Tai continued on, growing agitated quickly.

"Well yeah, but I mean, I really do only see him as a brother now. It's so fucked up, I know, but it's the truth." Kiseki shrugged, unsure of what else to say.

"I can't believe you…you're being so…I don't know, but I don't like it," Tai announced flatly. Kiseki glared at him sharply, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You think I actually wanted to break up with him?"

"Apparently, 'cause you did."

"Look, I don't expect you to understand…but just know I still care about Daisuke. A lot."

"That's not going to matter to him now! You corrupted him and now he's going to have the memories of these past two months forever."

"Corrupted? You call what we did corruption?"

"You were his first **boy**friend. I should say so."

"Like you're so much better! You're bisexual and you and Matt are all over each other every chance you can get! It's not like Daisuke doesn't have any other influence," Kiseki pointed out, grabbing his messenger bag from under his chair.

"Yeah but-"

"I think this discussion is over, Taichi." Kiseki turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"Hey! I'm not done with you yet!" Tai yelled at Kiseki's retreating form.

"See how much I care? Oh, that's right, I don't!" Kiseki shouted back.

"My god, what did he ever see in you?" Tai shot back. It was with that comment that Kiseki turned around, looking at Tai from the corner of his eye.

"You know what? I'd like to know the same thing." He turned around again and continued walking, disappearing through the doors and out of Tai's eyesight. The brunet sighed heavily, rubbing his throbbing temples.

'_Neh, maybe Yama will be nice and give me a massage.' _He thought to himself as he wandered up the stairs. He entered his room and shut the door, taking note that there was only one person in the room.

"Where's Dai?" Tai asked, joining Matt back on the couch.

"He went to his room. He said he just wanted to be alone for a while to think some things through. He also said that next time you need to not butt in. He was only here for comfort, not for you to fix everything for him," Matt relayed all of the information Daisuke had given him.

"But that's my job! I'm supposed to protect him an-" Matt cut his boyfriend off with a soft kiss. Tai instantly went silent.

"You're right, you're supposed to protect him when it's needed. He needed to fight this struggle on his own."

"…I guess so," Tai replied reluctantly. Matt rubbed Tai's shoulders reassuringly and smiled at him.

"He'll be all right."

"You think?"

"I do. Besides, he just went to call your sister."

"Oh. Yeah, that'll fix him up," Tai said sincerely, thinking about Kari's skills to make anyone feel better.

"I thought so," Matt replied, leaning over and taking his Chemistry book out of his bag. "But for now, back to studying."

"My gosh, I'll be glad when school's over," Tai grumbled as he got off of the couch to retrieve his own books and notes.

"You and me both." The two boys went quiet, each one getting lost in their own thoughts and studying their material intently.

* * *

The final bell rang, signaling the end of the last class of the year. All of the doors flew open and boys poured out into the hall, fleeing to different areas of the school. Tai waited outside of Matt's class, occasionally waving to somebody who walked past him. A flash of blond soon came before him and Matt seemingly materialized right then and there. 

"Hey, are you all packed?" he asked his boyfriend, grabbing his hand as they headed upstairs with everyone else.

"Yeah, pretty much. I just need to throw a few extra small things into my bag. So how's this going to work?" Tai opened the door with his free hand and the two of them walked into their surprisingly clean and empty room.

"Well, you're going to your house, and I'm going with my mom to stay at my dad's hotel room. Then on Saturday, we'll pick you and Kari and Daisuke, if he wants to come, up at your place and head out to the wedding."

"Oh. Okay, that's fair." Tai shrugged and went into the bathroom, grabbing his toothbrush, towel, and hair stuff he never used, cramming everything into his bag. "Oh yeah hey, then you can pick up your guitar too."

"Yes! I almost forgot about her."

"…idiot."

"Maybe," Matt agreed and did a quick overlook of the room, making sure that he didn't leave anything unpacked. In the end, he had his two large suitcases, his backpack and his duffel bag, just like he had started out with.

"All right, are we ready?" Tai asked, picking up his own duffel and suitcase combination.

"Think so," Matt replied. Tai grabbed him tightly, hugging him lovingly and refusing to let go.

"I'm going to miss you," he said sadly, donning a pout and a pair of puppy-dog eyes. Despite how pathetic he looked, Matt laughed at his boyfriend.

"Oh please, we'll be apart for what, three days? It'll be fine," he said, but returned the hug anyway. Tai let go of him finally and nodded.

"That's true. But still, I'll miss you."

"How did you get along with your life before you met me?"

"I can't even remember."

"…well, there goes that plan."

"Which was?" Tai tilted his head to the side.

"To go back to the lifestyle for three days. Obviously that's not going to happen, but it was a nice thought."

"Hmm, oh well." Tai picked up his bags and opened the door, ushering Matt out quickly. They walked to Natsuko's classroom in serene silence, stopping in front of her door.

"Okay, see ya soon, beautiful," Tai bid him goodbye.

"Yeah, very soon," Matt said and kissed him one last time.

"Ooh, we should say goodbye to each other more often if I get free kisses," Tai joked, opening the classroom door and dropping Matt's stuff inside.

"Oh, I know," Matt kidded right back. The two boys hugged once more and finally went their separate ways. Natsuko soon entered the classroom and beamed down at her son.

"How did you do on your finals?" she asked him as a greeting.

"Pretty well I imagine."

"Good to hear. Listen, your father's picking you up out front," Natsuko said to her son, packing up her paperwork as she talked to him.

"What? I thought we were going to his hotel together?" Matt said more as a question.

"I know, sweetie, but I have to go take care of some things at the house. Plus, it's my understanding that he has Takeru with him."

"Oh. Okay then, that's fine. Should I go down there now?"

"Yep."

"All right, see you there, Mom," he said and waved over his shoulder, bounding out of the classroom and going out the front doors. He soon spotted his father's rental car and made his way towards it. Hiroaki got out and hugged his son briefly before loading the luggage into the back. TK was already in the backseat of the car. Instead of crawling into the passenger seat, Matt opted to sit in the back with his brother.

"Hey, Takes," he said and buckled himself in.

"Hey. It's getting closer to the big day," TK reminded his older brother.

"I know…excited yet?"

"Very. Dad even more-so."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Not sure." TK shrugged. Matt laughed and Hiroaki got into the car, starting it up and driving off.

"So, Matt, how'd you do on your final exams?" he asked his oldest boy, driving down the street at a leisurely pace.

"Like I told Mom, I think I did pretty good."

"You've always been smart though."

"And I haven't?" TK jumped in, looking slightly offended.

"I'm sure you're smart too, TK," Matt replied with a roll of his eyes. "So what does Mom have to do at her house?" Hiroaki remained quiet for a bit, almost as though he were trying to find an excuse.

"She's packing up some stuff," he said after a while.

"What for?" both brothers questioned simultaneously.

"So that we have room for our stuff when we move in," Hiroaki answered them again and pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. "Here we are."

"Sweet!" TK shot out of the car. Matt followed him and walked around back to the trunk. Hiroaki popped it open and helped his son take out his luggage. The three males headed up to the fifth floor. Matt unpacked the few things he would need for that night and flopped down on one of the beds, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. A chuckle erupted in his throat and he began to laugh for no apparently reason at all. He smiled and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling lighter than air.

_'Three more days. Then life will be absolutely perfect.'_

* * *

Those three days passed by rather quickly. Matt rarely saw his mother or his brother, one being at the house packing up things to be put into storage and the other being at school because, well, he had to be. But it was finally Saturday, which meant one thing. 

"Matt, are you ready yet?" TK hollered from the main room. Matt stepped out of the bathroom in his black tux, adjusting his tie as he hunted for his shoes.

"Yeah, where's Dad?"

"He's already down in the car. Come on, we have to go get the Yagamis," TK said and practically pushed his brother out the door. The two brothers raced down the stairs, not wanting to waste time waiting for the elevator. Matt quickly stuffed his feet into his shoes that he had been carrying and they both hopped into the car.

"Nervous for the big day, Dad?" Matt asked.

"Nah, I've already done it once," Hiroaki replied as he turned in the direction of the Yagamis neighborhood.

"He's got a good point," TK reasoned, giving his father directions to the house. Hiroaki soon pulled up in from of the Yagamis house. Matt reached forward and held his hand down on the horn, letting it honk loudly for a short period of time.

"Yamato!" Hiroaki scolded, slapping his son's hand away. Matt stuck his head out the window and listened closely. Suddenly he heard a shout followed by, "Yama's here!"

"Well, it got the point across," TK said. "Are you sitting up front with Dad so that Tai and Kari can sit back here?"

"Yeah, I should," Matt retorted and got out of the car, walking two feet and opening the passenger door. The Yagamis came charging out of the house, clambering into the car and began talking animatedly simultaneously.

"It's nice to see you guys, too!" TK laughed and hugged his girlfriend.

"So Daisuke decided not to come?" Matt asked. Tai nodded and leaned forward, whispering into Matt's ear.

"He said that a wedding would remind him too much of Kiseki."

"Poor kid." Matt shook his head sadly.

"Yeah, but he's a lot better than he was."

"Good." The rest of the ride was spent with random conversations. Hiroaki pulled up in front of the church and got everybody out of the car.

"Take your places, guys," he said to them before he took off to find other people. The four teens looked at each other and shrugged.

"So, Kari's my mom's bridesmaid, Matt's Dad's best man, and me and Tai are groomsmen. Everybody got that?" TK asked them.

"Suppose so," Tai replied and shrugged, draping an arm around Matt's shoulder. "How you doing, gorgeous?"

"Wonderful. Even better now that you're here." Matt smiled flirtatiously and kissed Tai quickly before his dad came back.

"Good. Let's get this wedding started!" Tai grabbed Matt's hand and led him further into the church just as the last members of the wedding party got in place.

The wedding itself went on without a hitch. Natsuko appeared absolutely stunning in her strapless white wedding dress and Hiroaki seemed to approve of it very much. Before they all knew it, the minister said "You may kiss the bride" and it was over. The newly weds kissed and the congregation clapped and cheered. Hiroaki and Natsuko walked down the aisle with linked arms and their children (and childrens' significant others) trailing after them.

Everyone headed back to the hotel for the reception. The hired DJ began playing music and the food was brought out. Matt was standing next to the food table, eyeing the bottles of champagne warily. Tai sauntered up to him and rested his hands on Matt's hips.

"You know, I would ask you to dance, but I think your father might kill me," he started out.

"Maybe, but oh well. I'm not really in the mood for dancing anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'm too wound up to do much other than think about what just happened."

"Good excuse."

"Yamato!" Natsuko called out to him, waving him over.

"Uh-oh…she doesn't look too happy," Tai observed.

"Yeah, but she'll be even madder if I don't get over there. Be right back," Matt told his boyfriend and left him, making his way over to his mother. On the way, TK showed up at his side.

"Mom wanted to talk to you too?" the younger blue-eyed boy asked.

"Mmhmm. Do you know what about?"

"No idea." The two teens stepped out into the main hall of the hotel, just outside of the ballroom. Hiroaki and Natsuko both stood before them, both still dressed in their wedding attire and not looking happy.

"What's going on?" Matt asked them, staring at them expectantly.

"Yeah, what's so important that you had to tell us now?" TK joined in. Natsuko shook her head and looked at Hiroaki.

"You wanna tell them, or should I?" she asked her husband. It was then Matt knew it wasn't good news this time. Hiroaki sighed and squeezed his wife's shoulders supportively.

"I will."

"…what's going on?" TK repeated Matt's earlier question. Hiroaki bowed his head and frowned.

"We have to go back," he said. Matt felt his heart plummet down to his stomach and blinked.

"…what?" he managed to croak out, fighting to keep his composure.

"They won't let me leave my job in New York, but your mother can leave hers."

"We've been packing up for the past week. I'm so sorry boys," she said. TK shook his head and stared at her blankly.

"You can't be serious," he stated, shaking his head even harder. "You can't be serious!"

"TK, I know it's hard, but it has to be done," Natsuko explained. Matt swallowed hard and glanced back at his father.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Hiroaki answered. Matt bit down on his lower lip to keep it from quivering and nodded.

"Okay then," he choked out and turned, running from his family up the stairs towards the hotel room. None of them tried to stop him and none of them tried to follow him, seeing how they understood his motives. However, as soon as the rest of the Ishida clan went back into the reception, a blur of brown darted up the stairs as well.

Tai stopped in front of Matt's hotel room and knocked on it.

"Screw off!" Matt yelled from the inside.

"Matt, it's me," Tai called out gently. He heard the door click open and took that as a sign to enter. He opened and closed the door, joining his boyfriend on the bed. He wrapped his arms around the thin boy and held him closely.

"So what happened down there?" he whispered, tracing Matt's jaw line with his fingers. Matt sniffed and forced himself not to cry.

"We have to go back," he said quietly, not looking at Tai because he knew it would send him over the edge. Tai stared down at the mass of blond hair and almost stopped breathing.

"…to America?"

"To America," Matt repeated.

"You've got to be kidding!" Tai exclaimed.

"Nope. They won't let my dad quit his job, so Mom quit hers…we're leaving tomorrow."

"…tomorrow?" Tai repeated.

"Yeah. They just now told us," Matt filled him in, curling up into an even tighter ball.

"…no. You can't leave. I know that sounds so dramatic but you seriously can't leave me," Tai said and pulled Matt into his lap, rocking them both back and forward slowly.

"You think I want to leave?"

"Well no…but…" Matt shook his head and eventually looked Tai in the eye.

"I freakin' love you. And now they're tearing us apart. You really think that makes me happy?" he asked in a hoarse voice, watching Tai through bloodshot eyes.

"No. But…I don't know what to say," Tai replied.

"If I could find a way around it to stay here with you, I would."

"I know…"

"…"

"Well, if you're not going to talk, I will," Tai announced and turned Matt's body to face him.

"So talk."

"Okay. First of all, I love you, so much. It's going to hurt so much to let you go, and I know Kari's going to feel it too, since TK's leaving her. Second of all, even if we're not together, you're my best friend. I know that sounds strange since we've only known each other for seven months, but you are. You're closer to me than almost everyone. You and Sora come in for a close tie. Thirdly, we need to find a way to make this work."

"To make what work, exactly?" Matt made Tai pause for a moment. Tai brushed a kiss across Matt's lips and pulled away, smiling sadly but never loosening his grip.

"Our relationship." Matt jerked back in surprise and stared at his boyfriend with wide eyes.

"You really want to try a long-distance relationship?"

"I don't know…" Tai answered truthfully. "Any other time I would say yeah, definitely. But I have a feeling it would hurt us more than help us."

"Maybe…but I don't want to lose you," Matt put in, resting his head on Tai's chest.

"That goes double for me. But how can we do this?"

"You have email. I have email. End of story."

"We're going to email each other forever?" Tai raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Well okay, we might come back to Japan to visit you know."

"We hope."

"We hope…but that's the best we can do for now. Trying to keep a relationship an ocean apart isn't easy." Matt sighed. "I wish it was though."

"I'll still love you just as much though. You know that, right?" Tai looked at Matt, his own muddy eyes softened and on the brink of tears.

"Of course I do," Matt smiled and captured Tai's lips into what would most likely be their last kiss. Tai returned the favor and attempted to pull his boyfriend closer.

"Good. And don't you ever forget it," he nodded firmly, watching as Matt closed his eyes and fell asleep, completely drained from the entire day. Tai reluctantly untangled himself from Matt's limbs, kissing his forehead and running a hand through the golden hair.

"I'll be at the airport tomorrow…just to see you one last time."

"9:30am," Matt muttered softly.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"The scalp massage woke me up a bit."

"Go back to sleep."

"On it," Matt mumbled. Tai nodded in a satisfied manner and walked towards the door, sending one more smile Matt's way.

"I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful," he whispered and with that, closed the door soundlessly.

* * *

The next morning came all too quickly. The early hours went by in a blur and Matt remained lifeless, void of any emotion at all. It was 8:30am when the family of four headed out for the airport, luggage in tow. Hiroaki returned his rental car and they checked their bags, got their tickets, and headed for the right gate. 

Tai and Kari were already there, along with Daisuke and Mimi. TK was the first one to notice, leaving his parents and brother behind as he joined his group of friends. Hiroaki and Natsuko sat down in the chairs by the gate, leaving Matt by himself. TK came back to him and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him over to the others.

"Matt, we're going to miss you!" Mimi wailed first, latching herself onto Matt's arm.

"Hey, no hanging on my boyfriend. That's my job," Tai cut in. Mimi let go and sighed.

"Right, right. I forget that you're possessive."

"But Mimi's right, we're going to miss you guys," Kari said from her place in TK's arms.

"Well, we'll miss you more," TK said back, trying to be as cheerful as possible. Tai noticed that Matt wasn't speaking at all and took him away from the others, standing over by the gate itself.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked first, watching Matt closely for any signs of life.

"…yeah." The blond nodded. Tai sighed and continued.

"I'm going to miss you more than you'll ever know," he offered.

"I know…you and me both."

"Flight 107 now boarding for take-off," the intercom sounded off. Matt glanced over at his brother who was hugging Kari and Mimi, saying his final goodbye. His parents picked up their carry-on bags and headed for the gate.

"Wrap it up, boys," Natsuko called out to them before disappearing through the tunnel. Matt looked back at Tai and gave off a feeble smile.

"So, I guess this is it," he said, looking down at his shoes.

"Yeah…it is," Tai agreed. He looked over his shoulder for any signs of Hiroaki. Not seeing the older man anywhere, he grabbed Matt into a bone-crushing hug. "I love you," Tai whispered. Matt blinked and looked away.

"Not for much longer though," he said quietly. Tai's head snapped towards his boyfriend's direction.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded sharply. Matt looked back and stared at Tai with his cold eyes.

"It means that as soon as I'm gone for long enough, you'll forget about me and move on. That's what that means." Tai shook his head sadly and reached into his jacket pocket.

"You're wrong."

"Am I?" Matt asked, getting his sarcastic bite back into his voice. Tai nodded and grabbed Matt's face.

"You listen to me and you listen to me good," he said sternly and removed his hand from his jacket, revealing a red rose in between his fingers. Matt felt his breath catch in his throat as Tai pressed it into his hand, letting go of his face in the process.

"The day that this red rose turns black is the day I'll stop loving you. The day that this red rose turns black is the day I turn my back and walk away from you. The day that this red rose turns black is the day I'll stop caring about you." He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss onto Matt's cheek.

"The day that this red rose turns black is the day I'll be out of your life forever," he spoke in a hushed tone, pulling away slowly. "I hope you understand that." And with that he walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Matt's eyes followed his lover closely until he could see him no more. Swallowing thickly, he grabbed his carry-on bag and walked through the tunnel, taking his seat on the plane. He looked out the window quietly and looked into the airport. Standing at the window once again was Tai, staring out just as lost as he was, arms folded over his chest insecurely. Matt blinked and looked down at the flower in his hand.

It was only then the blue-eyed boy dared to examine the red rose, reaching out with slender fingers to caress the fine petals. Upon touching the rose, he came to the discovery that it was not a real rose, but one made of satin. And it was then he understood.

A real rose would wither and die…but one of satin would last forever.

"And so will Tai," Matt whispered, a sad smile crossing his lips as he sank down into his seat and leaned his head against the window. He barely took notice of his parents sitting down in front of him or his younger brother sitting on his left side. He barely took notice of the flight attendant speaking of the safety regulations or the captain's announcements on the intercom. He barely took notice of the plane's soft motions as it began to back up, positioning itself to glide down the runway. He barely took notice of the plane ascending into the air, rising higher and higher into the clouds.

All he took notice of was the dull ache in his chest where his heart should be; instead, his heart remained on the ground, watching the best thing that ever happened to it disappear beyond the horizon.

* * *

And that's the end of Black Rose. But don't worry, I'll have an epilogue up soonish. 

Thanks to everybody who read the last chapter: **CartoonHeroes**, Kaiya5, **diema**, neo, **Dreamcrafter**, yoshi-iso-cute, **CrimsonAnjel**, Kloudy Reignfall, **Tifa-sama**, Keiran, **Reki**, lyla, **Moppy**, Darkshipping, **the vindictive seeker**, The Kaizeress, **Selphie1234**, SelenaWheeler, **Sen-Tay**, Largo-sensei, **Crazy bitch from Texas**, Demolition Lovers, **JohnneyAntonelli**, BreatheMeDeep, **anne-rice-fan**, Queen of the Paperclips, **Sovereign of Silence3**, Lugga, **Salior Epyon, **a random reader, **Bluesv20**, Octavo, **regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan**, tya, **TaintedWolf**, Tallynne Of The Dragons, **dimonyo-anghel**, Clinton, **Puffgirl117**, and Rikke Leonhart.

Bittersweet ending, doncha think? Sorry if you didn't like it, it's what came to my head…all 55 pages. Don't forget, the sequel, Frozen Flame, will be out shortly after the new year. Merry belated Christmas and thanks for reading!


	15. Epilogue: Aftermath

_**You had me at hello, but then lost me at goodbye.**_

_**-Unknown**_

* * *

I can't decide what I should really be thinking right now. I mean, should I be happy for myself or sad for myself? Either way, I'm fucked beyond belief. 

But what can be done, right? It's not like I can go back in time and make sure my parents don't go through with their second wedding. But then again…

I can't go back and forget about Taichi either.

As hard as I try, I can't get his face out of my mind. Every time I've attempted to sleep on this flight, I come to find that I can't keep my eyes closed because all I can see is his smooth tan skin, his fiery brown eyes, the dark tresses that fell in all directions, and the charming smile that (eventually) melted me.

It's ironic really…just when I thought life deciding to stop being a bitch, something else came along and screwed it up. But of course, this something is actually a good thing…isn't it?

…

Bah, I don't know. I can't decide. Like I said, either way I'm fucked beyond belief. I'm thrilled that Mom and Dad got married again, I guess. It's what I've been hoping for since I was in, like, second grade. But given the circumstances now, I wonder if it's really worth celebrating. The family's perfect now: the husband, the wife, and their two children. Perfect, that is, if you can tolerate the fact that one of the sons is being a melodramatic bitch. Oh well, I deserve to wallow, don't I? Meh, who knows…I mean, it's not like I'm the only one leaving somebody behind. After all, Takes and Kari have been going out longer than me and Tai and he's holding up perfectly fine. A side-glance to my right proved that instead of my younger brother being fast asleep as he had been moments before, his eyes were open and watching me intently.

"Doin' some deep thinking?" he questioned, leaning back in his seat and turning on his side to face me. I merely shrugged and looked back out the window. Everything looked so small from up here. Japan was already so far away, it was insane.

"Matt?" TK called out to me again. I looked away from the window and faced him once more.

"What?" I cringed at the sound of my own voice. It sounded so pitiful; tiny and rather hoarse. A sympathetic smile crossed over TK's face.

"Your eyes look glassy," he whispered tiredly. I know…it doesn't surprise me at all. I can't cry now. I can't disappoint Dad and Mom like that.

Besides, it's too late to turn around now. I blinked and felt a lone teardrop make its way down my cheek. Out of instinct (at least, I'm guessing out of instinct), TK reached forward and brushed it away. Rather than doing something good, his action just caused me to shed more tears. Why? Why not?

Tai had done the same thing right before we left Japan.

I don't understand it. Before I went to Japan, I didn't really care about people at all. But now, I care too much about people. Certain people, actually. Crap, I don't know what I'm saying now. All I know is that Tai will find somebody else once I'm gone along enough. Sure, it's going to hurt for the first few months, but we'll slowly go back to our lives that we had before each other.

But really, do I want to go back? Is it really worth it to go back to being a total jackass to everyone and having people hate me for being who I am? Is it really worth it to go back to being the lonely emo-kid that people just brushed off?

Or, would it be more appropriate to be who I am now?

Of course, the obvious answer is to be who I am now. But I mean, how is that possible when the one who brings out the best of me is on the other side of the world? Can I really do this by myself? Seriously, he was practically my first everything: my first friend at the academy, my first best friend, my first crush, my first boyfriend, my first kiss, my first…ahah, blowjob, and the first person that I feel like I'm not going to be able to live without.

I suppose I could try, but it won't be easy. Just because Tai's out of my life for now doesn't mean it has to end.

Besides, I still have the rose. That's all that matters. We'll meet up again some day…and we'll just have topick up right where we left off.

* * *

It's only been six hours since the Ishidas left us here. And yet, life already seems to suck major ass. I have a feeling I'm taking this harder than I should be, but frankly, I don't give a damn. Yamato was **mine**. They took him away from me and now he's gone. He probably won't be coming back either. Well, I can still keep in touch with him via the internet. 

…oh what the hell am I saying? That's probably the most retarded way to keep up a relationship! But of course, I'm too damn stubborn to give up that easily. I worked too hard to get him; a couple of continents aren't going to stop us from being together.

The house is so quiet right now. Kari's out with Mimi, something about going to a slumber party to take her mind off of TK. I can hear Daisuke talking in Mom's room. He's been on the phone with Kiseki for the past hour. I think they managed to work everything out, but they're not getting back together. They both decided it would be better to just be friends. Which is good, that's all they need to be at this point.

I'm not quite sure what Matt thinks is going to happen. He's under the impression that I'm going to go off and find somebody better. Oh please, like who? Haru? Give me a break…

"No!" Realization suddenly dawned on me

"What no?" Daisuke poked his head into the room. I sighed and shook my head.

"I just thought of something I forgot to tell Matt about," I replied. Daisuke nodded and bounced over onto his bed, smiling happily and practically giggling.

"I'm sorry," he offered before he did start laughing. I could tell that I had a skeptical look on my face.

"What the hell's got you all giddy?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Me and Kiseki made up," he beamed.

"And?"

"Annnnd, he's gonna try to come visit sometime this summer!" he squealed. I nodded, slightly uninterested now.

"Cool."

"…what's wrong with you?" Daisuke finally clued in that I wasn't as excited as he was.

"Nothing; get out of my room," I ordered.

"It's my room too," he started to argue. I stood up and pointed to the door.

"Get out!" I shouted, walking toward him and shoving him out into the hall.

"Jeeze, all right!" he yelled back, stomping off downstairs. I slammed the bedroom door shut and sat back down at the desk in our room, pulling out my laptop quickly.

I had to write Matt a very long email. I wasn't sure why, but I had to say what I was thinking right at the moment. Opening hotmail, I logged in and typed in Yama's email address, starting in on my email.

_Dear Yama,_

_No, that sounds retarded…let's try that again._

_Hey Yama, what's up?_

_Blah, that sounds stupid too. Fauck, never mind, you get the point. I'm willing to bet that you're not even on the ground yet huh? Oh well, you're probably halfway home. _

_It's been six hours since you and your family left. Hikari's holding up pretty well: she says she's going to miss TK but that she wasn't going to let it totally ruin her life._

_Wish I could say the same thing._

_I swear, Yama, I already miss you enough that I want to fly to New York just to be with you. It's like a huge piece of me is missing. I wonder if you feel the same way. Maybe…possibly…hopefully._

_There were so many things left unsaid when we split up. It's like…how can I describe this? We need to get you back here, now. Before I go insane. Eh, wait, I'm already insane…haha, just kidding. Ugh, I have one more thing to say…Hikari was telling me to tell you some stuff I've been avoiding on telling you._

_Stories of my past._

_I would inform you now, but it would seem totally stupid to do it in an email, y'know? Oh hell, I know I'm just rambling now because I want you back so bad._

_Speaking of which, Kiseki and Daisuke made up. They're cool again. That's good, isn't it? I don't know…I don't really care._

_Let's play a game…I'm going to type out every thought that's running through my head at this point._

_I miss you._

_You're beautiful._

_I love you._

_I want you home. Not that home, your real home._

_I should have raped you when I had the chance._

_I was just kidding about that last part._

_I didn't deserve you._

_You deserve to be happy, which is the only reason I let you go._

_You're prettier than your brother._

_I'm going to save all of my money to get a ticket to go to America. Or to bring you here to me, whichever is cheaper._

_I already have a job. I'm a lifeguard at the public pool for the summer._

_My mom's already concerned about me._

_I haven't eaten since yesterday and I'm too lazy to get food at this point._

_Daisuke won't stop bothering me._

_I think we can make this work._

_You're my soulmate…_

_I think that's everything…I had no point in emailing you…I just needed you to know that you've been gone for so long and I still love you. Write me back when you get this, all right? I miss and love you with every fiber of my being._

_Love you always, Taichi._

I realized that the email sounded totally lame, but I just needed to write it, to make it feel like Yama was still real. I'm afraid that tomorrow morning I'm going to wake up and I'll be in my room at the academy. It will be a normal day in October…but Yamato will never come.

What if he really was too good to be true? It wouldn't surprise me, actually. I mean, God seemingly hates me. It wouldn't shock me in the least to find out that somebody was messing with my mind.

Oh well, all I can do is believe that everything was real and everything was perfect.

A knock on my door brought me back down to reality.

"Daisuke, I already told you to go away!"

"It's not Dai, it's me." Kari. I thought she was gone? Oh well, apparently she's home. I got up and opened the door, looking down at her. She looked so vulnerable and innocent, standing there quietly, waiting for me to acknowledge her.

"What? I thought you were at Meems' house?"

"I was, but I couldn't stay there. It was hard trying to be happy. Too soon, y'know?" she said and side-stepped me into the bedroom. I nodded and shut the door, sitting next to her on my bed.

"So, what's up?" I asked her. She sighed and played with the fringe of her shirt.

"I miss TK…and I think the only one who will understand how much is you."

"…probably. I just wrote Matt an email with the intentions of telling him about Haru."

"Did you?" She suddenly looked hopeful. I shook my head and shrugged.

"Nah, that would be so ridiculous. I'd rather tell him in person."

"You have a point," she agreed and fidgeted again. It was then I noticed she had something in her hand.

"Whacha got there?" I asked, tilting my head curiously and attempting to grab it from her hands. She was quicker, however, and hid it behind her back.

"Just wait, okay? I'll let you see it in a moment," she assured me. I pouted and waited for her to continue with…whatever she was doing. "So anyway, I was thinking…"

"About?"

"If I should just let him go or not."

"Who?"

"…TK!"

"Oh! Sorry, I got lost," I said sheepishly. She rolled her eyes and continued talking.

"What did you and Matt decide?"

"…I can't even remember. Probably that we were done, but I'm still considering myself to be dating him."

"Yeah?" She watched me closely, probably waiting to see if I was going to crack or not.

"Yep. But with you and TK, it really depends on…" I stopped talking and sighed. "Listen, Kar, I'm not good on this whole advice thing."

"…you really do miss him a lot, don't you?"

"Is that pathetic?"

"Of course not, why would it be?" she asked as though it were a retarded question.

"Because we knew each other for such a short amount of time, that's why."

"Seven months isn't that short of an amount, Tai."

"…right," I replied, feeling the onset of a bad mood beginning to arise. Kari shook her head and shoved the…thing into my hand. Looking down, I unfolded it and examined it. My eyes widened and my mouth fell open.

"Where did you get this?" I questioned her suddenly, looking up from the picture of me and Matt in my hand. I mean, it was a picture of both of us, in my bed (yes, fully-clothed, you freaks), him in my arms and snuggled up together. How did I not notice this?

"That one day during Christmas break? I think it was the morning after you guys came home and we watched The Exorcist. I just printed it out," she explained to me, smiling gently. "Do you like it?"

I think I have never loved my sister as much as I did at that moment.

"God…Kari…" I couldn't say any more before I ended up grabbing her into a suffocating hug. She didn't bother trying to pry herself out from my grip like she usually does. Instead, she just hugged me back just as tightly. I knew I was going to end up crying really soon if I didn't do something, but now, I didn't seem to care. So what if Kari saw me bawl my eyes out? It's not like she hasn't before.

So I did. Yep, you heard me, I started crying. I don't even know why. It could have been because it hurt so much knowing that Matt was so far away. It could have been because my sister gave me the world in a photograph. Or it could have been because I had Kari's toothbrush digging into my side. At this point, it didn't matter. All that mattered was the moment I was living in just then. The moment that made me think. The moment that made me smile through my tears.

The moment that made me believe that all would be right in the world someday; just like it used to be.

* * *

WOW. It's finally over guys, for real this time. This is the end of Black Rose. Kinda sad huh? Oh well, I'm proud of it. 

Thanks to: **TaintedWolf**, Dreamcrafter, **anne-rice-fan**, neo, **dimonyo-anghel**, Tifa-sama, **Kaiya5**, Black Mirror, **lil'mi1**, Crazy bitch from Texas, **yoshi-iso-cute**, Keiran, **Moppy**, dreamer, **April**, Demolition Lovers, **SelenaWheeler**, Panthino, **Darkshipping**, The Kaizeress, **Largo-sensei**, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, **Octavo**, Lugga, **Micho chan**, Demon fritillary, **getmebeforeigetyou**, piryha, **Noroi-Inu**, CircleKV12, **Dreamer**, and Queen of the Paperclips.

Now, while I thank everyone for reviewing and such, there are definitely people out there that I owe a special thanks to.

**nEo**: My wonderful wife, where would I be without you? Haha, Frozen Flame's gonna be fun. Thanks for reviewing every single chapter and letting me bounce ideas off of you. I less than three you. Ahh, I can't describe how much. You're just so random like myself, that's why I adore talking to you. Always remember, we are exotic-neroutics!

**Josh**: My perky little gay boy, you're my absolute favorite. Hah, you're like mine and neo's son man, it's great. Ahh, I totally adore you though. I can't remember if you've reviewed every chapter, but it feels like it. I love talking to you on AIM and stuff. The movie's gonna be fun to try, neh? Hope you had a good time in Disneyland by the way!

**Jurion**: Juri, Juri, Juri. Man, you always pull the story apart. I don't even remember where you came from. One day you just kind of showed up. Haha, glad you did though, you're wonderful.

**Adam**: And of course, my favorite Aussie boy. I love you and crap, thanks for supporting me, haha. You were the only one awake with me at New Years!

**Sen-Tay**: Taylere, doll, I love you so much, even though we don't talk that much anymore. You need to get on AIM more often! Thanks for being one of my biggest "fans" and for leaving me some of the longest reviews ever, haha. I'll make the cookies go boom now, just for you.

**Octavo**: Ez! You always point out my errors, spelling and grammar-wise. Nevertheless, I appreciate it, haha. You seriously rock man and I actually do enjoy talking to you. Thanks for sticking with me.

**Dreamcrafter**: DC! You always make me feel special and I absolutely love it. Thanks for being supportive and awesome. I love you!

**Gaby**: Gabilicious! Aww, you're my favorite lemon, haha. I can't believe we didn't meet sooner! Gah, that makes me sad, Gabs, really. But we're together now! Woot, and sharing the same brain (even though neo took mine..). Point is, I love you. You're so fun to talk to and you make me smile no matter what. It's grand.

**April**: My beautiful beta! Sorry you didn't get to really beta this story, but FF is all yours, I swear. Man, I wish you weren't grounded or whatever, I miss talking to you on a daily basis. It makes Ty sad. Oh well, I like talking to you when I can. I love you and you always have the most random crap to show me that cracks me up. Thanks for offering to beta my stuff, love. It helps me so much.

And lastly, **Issa-K**: I doubt you'll read this (hence why you're last on here), but I'm thanking you anyway because you're my husband and you might divorce me if I don't mention you. Haha, you're wonderful. Random role plays and odd discussions: that's what makes up the Issa-Ty ship. I heart you.

Thanks for reading the story, everybody. I'd like to note that on Friday, January 6th, the first chapter of Frozen Flame is going up. It's already finished, so now it's just being betaed. It'll be fun! I appreciate all of the positive reviews and support I got from all of you. It means a lot to me as a writer.

So Happy New Year and I hope you enjoyed Black Rose!


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